Vanished Without a Trace
by GiovanniSama
Summary: While training with Jiraiya, Naruto runs into Yugito. Despite the hatred between their villages they end up eloping leaving behind only their Hitai-ate and vanished until years later when two shinobi with a child appear during a search for ancient relics
1. 1st Sight: Chanced Encounters

Vanished Without a Trace

**Author's Note: What it do all? Yup I'm starting a new story and no this does not mean that I have giving up on Immanence. Just decided to try something a little different than what I have with Immanence. There are ideas I have that I can't implement in Immanence so they all will go here. The original concept for the story came from crazyfoxdemon so I have to give him a well-deserved shout out. Well I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter of this new story. And the next chapter of Immanence will be out later this week as well. Thanks for reading!******

Update: 10/22/08

**  
Vanished Without a Trace**  
1st Sight: Chance Encounters

It has been two years, three months, twenty-two days, four hours, and thirty-three minutes since the day Naruto and Jiraiya made their departure from Konohagakure. It all started with a blind promise to a pink haired girl, an undeniable sense of justice to protect his best friend from the clutches of an ero-hebi and a never-ending quest to prove his worth to everyone who has ever doubted him. The day he left the village all these things bore heavy on his heart and heavy on his mind.

But now… now things had changed for the blond. He no longer was the blond loud mouth, dim-witted, ramen loving genin he once was. Training with Jiraiya had opened up his eyes to the real world. The real world of the shinobi.

Growing up, he was always told by his peers about the cold facts of the shinobi world but he had never really experienced them first hand. A year deep in training with Jiraiya, the legendary sannin decided that it was about time for Naruto to experience his first real mission. Between the releases of his ever-popular ero-book series he would take on various assignments to help keep the food on the table and the women happy in the bars, which was also becoming a rare commodity thanks to his annoying little pupil.

Ever since he had decided to bring Naruto along as his apprentice, the blond baka had been messing up all his elaborate plans to collect _information_. Naruto once used his Oiroke no Jutsu to catch his sensei in the act of peeking in a very popular hot spring about three months on the trip. Safe to say Jiraiya will always thank Naruto for all of his _painful_ memories of his visit there.

The job was a simple one, escort a traveller from one town to the next. The client was carrying some very rare weapons that could sell for quite a penny to antique collectors over seas. The neighbouring city just happened to be a port city with a boat waiting for the client as soon as he got there. Apparently bandits had already attacked this man three times already. Luckily for him he was able to survive those attacks. His stubbornness was the only thing that kept him doing this profession and probably the only thing that kept him alive those times too. But this time he was playing it different, he saw how large Jiraiya was and the shiftiness in his eye and just knew he was strong. Little did he know the only reason why Jiraiya was looking like that at the time was because of an all-nighter he had pulled the previous night gathering more _research_ for his book.

"Excuse me, sir. Sir?" the man tapped on Jiraiya shoulder and nearly leaped out of his shoes when he saw the look Jiraiya gave him. "S-S-Sorry sir… I didn't mean to disturb you but I have request for you. You look like a strong man and all, and I'm pretty sure you be more enough for the job I'll have for you. I'll pay you well." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes and stared at the man closely before standing up straight and shaking his head.

"Sorry, I don't _research _on men." Suddenly the man's eardrums nearly exploded due to the sound of laughter coming from behind the man.

"Knew you were many things ero-sennin, but I never pegged you for an okama!" the man got a glimpse at the blond teenager as he rolled on the floor with laughter. He was holding his stomach like it was about to burst.

"Urusai gaki!" Jiraiya yelled as he kicked Naruto in the side causing him to yell out in pain. In an instant, the blond was on his feet and in Jiraiya's face.

"What was that for!?"

"S-S-Sorry for the confusing sir… but that's not what I wanted. I wanted to hire you for an escort job."

"Escort job, eh? Where to?"

"Atsumi Port… I'm willing to pay you half now and half there upon arrival."

"Hmmm…. and why are you asking me for this job?"

"Well… I figured you'd be strong in all due to your size and all." Jiraiya chuckled as he turned around glance at Naruto who had decided that the conversation was to boring for him to follow and went back to his delicious bowl of ramen. That was when the idea hit Jiraiya; it would prove to be perfect training for the gaki and also give him the free time he needed to enjoy himself more.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that I can't take you up on your offer but I know someone who is strong as well and could do just as good of a job as me."

"W-w-who would that be sir?" Jiraiya turned around and glanced at Naruto in an obvious manner causing the stranger to follow his eyes. "Him, sir?" he said using a questioning tone.

"Oh, don't worry about a thing. He may look like a baka but he is quite capable of defending you and himself. The guy is practical his own little army ready for anything, ain't that right Naruto!" Naruto mumbles something as he starts on his fourth bowl of ramen.

"The kid can eat, can he?"

"You don't know the half of it… this is only his brunch before dinner… By the way what's your name?"

"Ren."

"Good to meet you, Ren. I'm Jiraiya and this is Uzumaki Naruto, and he would love to escort you to Atsumi Port."

"Eh?" At the time Naruto had decided to come back into the conversation and was more than shock to hear what they were talking about.

"What do you mean 'eh?', gaki? It's been decided already; you are escorting him to the next town."

"Nani!? What about you, ero-sennin?"

"Me? I'm staying here of course. Thanks to a certain annoying blunder-head, I'm more than behind on my next book and this would give me the ample time to do some catch up."

"But…"

"Don't worry boy, he did say he will pay us well. Speaking of which, how much are we talking here?"

"Uh… I was thinking ten thousand now and ten thousand when we get there." Naruto immediately began to add up the number of ramen bowls he could buy for that amount.

"Fine… I'll be taking the first ten thousand now."

"Nani?"

"Hey, gaki… this is my share of the loot."

"But I'm doing all of the work!"

"Consider this the type of training that you are also get paid for. I'll even let you keep the other half when you get there. Sounds like a plan?"

"Yeah…yeah, whatever…" Naruto sat back down to finish his last bowl before heading out with Ren to begin his mission. Jiraiya just merely smiled as he watched the two walk off.

"Finally I can get some work done." he got up and began to head to his favorite bar where the ladies were always happy to see him when his pockets were full.

The trip was a pretty average trip when it came to length. Ren estimated that it would take them about a full day worth of traveling if they didn't make any unnecessary stops. The two of them didn't even speak a word until about the third hour into the trip where Naruto began to sigh.

"So… why are we heading to Atsumi?" Naruto asked trying to break the ice between them.

"I need to transport these all the way to my boss. He sells these to all types of rich folk for a lot of money." Naruto glanced at the large bag that he had tied around his waist. He had been wondering for a while now what it was and he had his suspicions but didn't feel like asking about them.

"Cool… why do you need a body guard for this?"

"W-w-well… I've already been attacked by thieves three times and this time the boss finally gave me enough to also hire a bodyguard too." Naruto nearly choked on his own spit.

"Three times?"

"Yup…"

"You're lucky to be alive ojii-san. I would've quit this job after the first one."

"Please call me Ren… and I would if I could Uzumaki-san."

"Come on… Call me Naruto." he cracked his patented smile that was highly contagious judging from the fact that everyone who saw it couldn't help but to smile too and Ren was no exception.

"How old are you Naruto-san?" Ren asked as he looked up at him. Surprisingly enough the runt of the Konoha nine had went on a huge growing spurt. He now stood over five-ten with a very strong frame. The type of training Jiraiya had been putting him through easily work through his baby fat and replaced all of it with iron hard muscle.

"Fourteen years old."

"Are you sure we will be OK then? I mean you still are a kid and all…"

"I'm not a kid…I'm a shinobi."

"Shinobi?" Naruto nods as he points up to his Konoha Hitai-ate with a large grin on his face. It was easy to tell that he had great pride in his village.

"Yeah… I will become the greatest Hokage in the history of Konoha."

"Are you that great of a shinobi Naruto-san?"

"You better believe I am." He cracked that contagious smile again causing Ren to laugh out loud.

Feeling a little bit more confident about his new bodyguard, Ren convinced Naruto to allow them to set up camp for the night. Naruto created a fire using one of the jutsu Jiraiya had taught him and cooked up some instant ramen.

"You really like ramen, huh, Naruto-san?"

"Best food in the world. Want some?"

"No, I'm fine…"

It wasn't long before the two of them fell asleep. Naruto was actually the first to go leaving Ren a little worried but he soon found enough peace for himself to be able to fall asleep soon after.

The night was still, not even the crickets were chirping that night. The soothing breeze of the wind made everything feel just that much more comfortable. It was definitely a peaceful night, a little too peaceful.

Ren quickly woke up to see the horrifying sight of a kunai pointing directly at his neck.

"Damn… not again…"

Suddenly the intruder dropped the kunai as he literally fell on top of Ren. Freaking out and fearing for his life, Ren pushed the man off of him and started to run but was caught by surprise when he saw not one, not two, but five Narutos beating the hell out of the other bandits without much trouble at all.

"Naruto-san…? Is this what Jiraiya-san meant by him being his own army?"

Suddenly Ren was met with yet another kunai to the throat. "Yeah, the gaki is quite the sight, eh? Never thought that a young Konoha-nin would cause us this much trouble." the bandit said as he began to twirl the kunai deeper into Ren skin drawing blood from his neck. "And too bad that he was too much of a green-horn to not think that we would have more."

"Actually, I figured the leader would be showing himself pretty soon so I made it look like I wasn't expecting more." The hooded bandit turned around to see a kunai pointing at his forehead.

"Hmm… not bad… not bad at all. I guess I did underestimate you, huh? I might have some fun after all." As soon as he finished his speech a seventh Naruto appeared from the rock that was sitting neck to them and slashed his kunai at the bandit's head. The bandit was just quick enough to dodge the attack but his hood was swiped off revealing the long flowing blond hair of a female. Her long hair was tied into a tail that stretched all the way down her back. Her azure shaded eyes were almost as equally mesmerizing as Naruto's cerulean eyes. The one thing that stuck out the most was her Hitai-ate that carried the symbol of Kumogakure.

"A-a-a girl?"

"Huh? Is that a problem?" Naruto smirked as he crouched in a defensive stance.

"Nope, not at all." The blond kunoichi was the first to make a move as she used her incredible speed to get within striking distance of Naruto quicker than he had original predicted of her. He was barely able to put up his kunai to fend off her attack.

"What's wrong boy? Thought you were tough enough to actually fight me. Don't disappoint me now."

"Don't worry about that. I was just testing you."

"Testing me?" four Narutos suddenly leaped at her with kunai in each hand attacking her relentlessly. She was forced off of the first one in order to defend herself from the new four. Her speed was amazing indeed, Naruto could barely keep up with her movements with his own eyes.

"Seems I'm going to have to take this up a notch huh!?" The kunoichi yelled as her body literally burst into blue flames burning all of the clones that were once attacking her. "Is that all you got?" Naruto merely smirked as he slowly he lifted his left hand and yelled "Kai!" releasing the genjutsu that he had placed on his body revealing a katana with a dark blue hilt.

"Is that katana supposed to scare me?"

"Hell… I would be." He slowly unsheathed the blade from his back and went through several seals with his free hand. The blade began to pulsate an enormous amount of chakra as the wind around them began to pick up. "Scared yet?"

"No, but I'm interested."

Naruto tightly gripped the hilt of his katana and began to slash in the air.

"I'm over here, boy!"

"I know!" Naruto yelled as the wind began to pick up even more causing the Kumo kunoichi to become a tad bit worried. Suddenly the slashes Naruto was making became violent waves of wind crashing towards the kunoichi. She was force to evade quickly as she watched one of the waves slashed right through a tree. She quickly scrambled to her feet but was met with a very excited Naruto as he made yet another swipe at her head. She put up her kunai to guard her life but she watched the blade sliced right through her kunai and nearly through her head if she hadn't ducked quickly enough.

She sent a swift kick to his stomach knocking him on his back. She quickly leaped up to her feet and smiled down at him.

"It seems that you still have a long way to go with your swordsmanship; well until next time… wait, let me get your name so I can carve it on your gravestone for next time." Naruto glared up at her.

"It's polite to give your name first before asking for someone else's."

"Oh, the polite one, huh? Fine… I'm Nii Yugito of Kumogakure."

"Heh… well I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the future Rokudaime of Konohagakure."

"Heh… another Kage hopeful, eh? Well, until we meet again, Naruto." Yugito said as she shushin-ed off in a cloud of smoke.

"Naruto-san?"

"You all right Ren?"

"Yeah… I'm fine. Who were they?"

"Looks like the guys who were attacking you were from Kumo."

"Kumo?"

"Yeah… a village like mine, born to breed shinobi. Now you are going to have to tell me what it is you are carrying."

"What do you mean by that Naruto-san? These are just antique weapons, relics, they should be of no use to anyone any more."

"Someone high up thinks otherwise since they have Kumo-nin after you."

"What now then, Naruto-san?"

"Well… I say we should leave now. How much longer do we have before we get there?"

"If we leave now we should make it there by noon."

"Yosh! Let's go!"

Naruto went through another set of seals activating another jutsu he learnt from Jiraiya that allowed him to wipe a camp-ground clean not leaving even the slightest trace of anyone being there. Ren glanced over at the unconscious men and looked back at Naruto.

"What about them Naruto-san?"

"Let them sleep. We have to move out before the Kumo kunoichi brings back friends."

"I think I underestimated you too, Naruto-san. When I first saw you I thought you were just a baka."

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Now, let's go."

As the two of them set out, Naruto could sense the faint trail of the kunoichi he had just met from Kumo and knew that she was somewhere near them. For that reason alone he kept his katana at his side.

A memento handed down from his father to Jiraiya to give to him when he felt he was ready. The blade was named after the great typhoons that once dispersed out of a great threat to the five great nations known as the Kamikaze. It is said that this katana was one of the few artifacts that were blessed by the divine gods. These weapons had been sought after for ages yet those who wield them never could bring out the true strength of the weapons, to their hands they were merely tools and not the blessed weapons that they were said to be. Naruto's father, Minato, was among the first to learn that the key to awakening the latent powers of these artifact were the bijuu. The Yondaime didn't understand why this was the key but he knew that this would also aid his unborn son in his growth. Jiraiya didn't quite understand where he got such a powerful weapon from but knew that if his greatest pupil wouldn't relinquish the facts to him then there must have been more than a good reason for his sewed lips.

The two of them finally set foot in Atsumi just as the sun was at its highest peak in the sky. Naruto finally felt comfortable enough to re-sheathed his _Kamikaze _and mask it with his genjutsu. Jiraiya had told him the importance of the blade and how he must keep it hidden at all cost.

Naruto's stomach began to growl as soon as they reached the centre of the city.

"Well this is where we part, Naruto-san. Thank you for everything." Ren shook Naruto hand as he handed him his reward for the escort.

"No problem, Ren. After you complete this, I highly recommend finding a new line of work."

"As if your work is any safer." Ren said as he smiled before walking off.

"Now… where in this little town can I find a good bowl of ramen?" Naruto began to sniff in the air hoping his nose could lead him to the gold, and which by the blessing of dumb luck he managed to discover the one restaurant in town that actually sold hot miso ramen. With his pay for his work he could have all the bowls he wanted. As he sat down and began to order his food he happened to catch a glance of another blond in the shop and at the same time she looked over at him.

"Huh! YOU!?" Both Yugito and Naruto yelled at the same time as they both stood up and pointed at each other.

"Excuse me, honoured customers, could you please refrain from yelling? You are disturbing the other customers." The patron shot them a stern look.

"Gomen asai." Both shinobi said as they glared at each other.

_Ok… I am just going to ignore her and enjoy my meal._ Was what Naruto thought until she sat down in front of him.

"Uh…. What the hell are you doing?"

"Sitting down…"

"I can see that, but the why hell here?"

"Because I want to." Naruto frowned as he pointed to his Hitai-ate.

"We're enemies, you know?"

"Yeah, I know of the past between Kumo and Konoha, but now is different."

"Soooo, you're saying that Kumo and Konoha aren't having a cold war with one another right now?" Naruto asked with sarcasm heavy in his tone.

"No, I mean between us."

"Us?"

"Yeah… there's no reason for us to fight _right now_. Besides I'm on a break and judging by the fact that the oji-san you were protecting is no longer with you it seems you are on a break too. No one said _we _had to hate each other every second of the day."

"I still don't trust you."

"And why?"

"You did try to kill me last night."

"And you're saying you weren't trying to take my life?" Naruto was going to say something but paused as it escaped his mind. "Besides, our elders hated each other and I'm not a fan of the elders of Kumo. Bunch of stuck up bastards that deserve to get with the times or die anyway."

"Heh… seems we have one thing in common."

"See…"

"But I still don't trust you."

"Fine, have it your way. Can't say I don't blame you, though." Suddenly a large explosion was heard causing the entire restaurant to tremble.

"Something's happening at the dock!" A man yelled from the outside. Naruto glared over at Yugito.

"What? Swear it has nothing to do with me." Naruto narrowed his eyes and glared at her even harder.

"Seriously… it doesn't!"

"Argh!" Naruto yelled as he got up and took off running for the deck. Shockingly, Yugito took off after him.

"Why are you following me?"

"Hey! I'm just curious."

"Whatever…"

Naruto and Yugito both reached the dock at the same time to witness them being flooded by Iwa-nin.

"Iwagakure?" Yugito asked as she stepped up.

"What the hell is up with this guy's luck!?" he began to scan the port for any sign of Ren, suddenly he saw him being chased by several Iwa-nin which caused him to leap into action. The first thing he did was release the genjutsu on his _Kamikaze _and went through the same seals he had shown Yugito the previous night. She decided to sit this one out since it had nothing to do with her.

Just as Ren was about to meet his death he was saved by a massive gust of wind that sent all of the Iwa-nin flying into the ocean.

"Naruto-san!?"

Naruto landed right in front of him with a large grin on his face.

"And you know it."

"Why are you here?"

"Making sure my friend makes it to his boss safely."

"Arigatou, Naruto-san!!"

Naruto switched his katana to the side of the blade and began to slash in the air. Each slash launching violent waves of wind at his opponents sending several of them crashing to the sea with their blood leaking over them.

More Iwa-nin seemed to have appeared from nowhere as they all rushed the blond and his friend.

"Kage Bushin no jutsu!" Naruto yelled as about twelve clones appeared beside him but he was the only one with the _Kamikaze_; the reason for this was due to the fact that Naruto had yet to figure out how to re-create the mighty katana. Jiraiya believed it was all due to its rumoured blessings from the gods.

The thirteen of them set off for a massive clash with the Iwa-nin. Suddenly one of the older ones stopped as the look of fear became evident in his eyes.

"Y-y-ye-yellow flash!!" He yelled as he pointed at Naruto making him smile inwardly. Ever since Jiraiya had told him of his father feats he would always enjoy hearing it from others just to confirm the truths. His sensei was known for his tall tales so it made it hard to believe a lot of things that came from him.

"Impossible… he's supposed to be dead!" another of the Iwa-nin yelled. Naruto took their pause as a moment of to send yet another wave of wind wiping out several more.

"That gaki is not the infamous Yellow Flash we all learned about. I am one of the fortunate ones to have survived his onslaught. Take care of the man and I'll take care of the wanna-be." A stout looking Iwa-nin said who bore two large scars over his face.

"As if I'll allow you to do such a thing!" Naruto yelled as he gripped the hilt of his blade even tighter. The Iwa-nin formed a large piece of rock and slung it at Naruto who slashed it in half with ease. But Naruto had already fell for the Iwa-nin traps as two of his clones formed from the rock and sent heavy side kicks to both sides of his chest at the same time causing him to collapse to the ground.

"I don't know who you are but I must admit that you do have an unmistakable resemblance to that demon of a man." Naruto smirked as he coughed up blood.

"I am his legacy."

"Nani?" Before he could say any more, Naruto began to form a massive amount of swirling chakra in his free hand and punched it in the Iwa-nin's gut.

"Rasengan!" He yelled as the jutsu managed to shatter the Iwa-nin into pieces, unbeknownst to the other Iwa-nin, clone after clone unleashed the same jutsu on them giving the same treatment.

"That is one of his jutsu but too bad that it was nowhere near as strong as his was or I would be dead by now." the man said as the rocks joined together and formed chains locking both Naruto's legs and arms to the ground. The real Iwa-nin appeared in front of him with a large rock first and landed a painful blow to Naruto's face shattering his jaw. "If you really are his son then I shall exact my revenge by killing you here and now."

Meanwhile Yugito was somewhere in hiding watching everything as it unfolded. For some unknown reason to her she felt more than compelled to intervene but she also knew that this could lead to her own execution by the Raikage if she were to act against an ally in order to save an enemy. And Kami knows how much the council of Kumo would love to kill her thanks to the neko that was sealed within her.

"Naruto!!" Ren yelled as he pulled out a katana adorned with a similar design as _Kamikaze, _exceptwith a scarlet hilt from his bag and slashed through the rocks that had bound Naruto to the ground.

"Ren?" Naruto asked as he glanced up at him.

"We have to escape Naruto-san."

"Where the hell do you think you're going, young Yellow Flash?" The Iwa-nin demanded as he created a rock barrier in front of them. Apparently despite his outmost pain, Naruto was able to remain calm enough to continue to control his clones keeping Ren safe for the time being but now things were looking more than grim for the two of them.

"I'm done playing, kid!" The wall suddenly shatter forming many daggers made of rock and went flying towards Naruto, well, they were supposed to. Ren at the last moment had pushed Naruto out of the way and took the brunt of the attack. Before Naruto could even blink his friend's blood was all over his face.

"REN!!" Naruto howled as tears began to flow out of his eyes.

"Oooooh, now that we have that out of the way, finally I shall deal with you." The Iwa-nin said as he charged in to finish Naruto off himself. Suddenly, a random kunai punctured into his shoulder causing him to shout out in agony. He glanced around and saw no one in sight. His pause was enough time to allow Naruto to lose his cool. The Kyuubi within him and the katana that was locked in Ren's hand were pulsating violently.

An explosion of chakra erupted from Naruto as his canine's began to extend along with his claws, his round cerulean pupils turned into crimson red slits, his whisker birthmarks grew wider as blood began to flow from them. Naruto's plain tears of water and salt were now tears of crimson red as the unbearable heat of his chakra began to melt away the ground below him.

In the distance, Yugito's body was trembling from the demonic youkai his chakra was given out. She had sensed something like this before but nowhere near as strong and that was from herself.

"I knew that boy was different from the others… he has a bijuu in him just like me. Which one, though?"

Naruto sheathed his _Kamikaze _and picked up the katana from his late friend's cold dead hands and gripped it in the similar motion he would hold his katana. With one quick swipe, a large wave of liquid fire flooded the deck burning everything it touched, including all of the Iwa-nin. Naruto then glared at the sky, as if cursing the gods, and began to scream at the top of his lungs in anguish as the sorrow took hold of his body.

Having taken its payment, the malicious chakra began to subside as Naruto collapsed to his knees; his original human-like traits returning. Once again, he looked over at his dead friend and wiped away more of his tears. He fixed his gaze at the katana he now held in his hands and frowned as he stood up. He decided that this katana too would act as a memento of his failure to his nindo. He had failed to save a friend whom he had promised to protect. This katana would act as a permanent reminder of this day.

Not wanting to set him off the handle again, Yugito decided that it was for the best that she left him alone. There was no telling how we would react if saw her. She too was an enemy of him.

Naruto quietly walked off the port and away from the town of Atsumi as if nothing had happened but the expression on his face was not one of celebration or excitement. It was actually void of all emotion as he made his silent walk back to the town his sensei was in.

That night he set up camp just three hours outside of the village. He decided to take to the trees for a quicker way back. When Yugito walked up to him he didn't say nothing, he only looked at her.

"You all right?" he narrowed his eyes for a second before glancing up at the sky.

"Nahh… I will be, though."

"Here." Yugito handed him a new holster that was the type that was placed on the hip like a samurai unlike his holster for his _Kamikaze, _which was placed around his back.

"What this for?"

"Your new katana. I saw you leave the city with it and I figured you would need one. Better than carrying it in your hand the whole time, you know?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"To be honest, I don't even know why but please take it, ok?"

"Arigatou."

"No… don't thank me. You sure you will be ok?"

"Yeah, I will."

"So, what are you going to name it?"

"What?"

"The katana. It seems to be as strong as your other one. You might as well give it a name; I know you gave the other one a name too right?"

"My first katana is called Kamikaze and this will be called Kagokasai due to my inability to protect someone who I promised to protect."

"Come on, Naruto… this is the cold world of the shinobi… You have to live by the rule of the world, which means that shit happens."

"Yeah, I know…"

"Cheer up, ok? Well, I have to head back to my village before they put a hit out for me."

"That important, huh?" Naruto said with a blank expression on his face.

"No… more like they are just looking for reasons to kill me." she smiled hoping he would react but he only continued to stare up at the sky. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "I'm just like you, Naruto… I have a bijuu trapped inside me too." That seemed to snap Naruto out of his trance.

"Nani?" He let out as he glanced up, but Yugito was nowhere to be found. It was almost as if she had vanished without a trace. Not even a chakra residue was left like normally when someone shushined off. He began to doubt if she was even there until he remembered the sheath holster she had just gave him. It was real indeed.

This event began to cause Naruto to rethink his entire fourteen years of life. This was the beginning of one of the largest decisions he would make in his entire life.

**Translations**:   
_Oiroke no Jutsu_: Sexy Technique (This is simply a Henge used to transform the user into a beautiful, nude woman; if the user is male, the woman's appearance is a beautiful, female version of his appearance. Naruto uses it to drive his instructors to distraction, sometimes leading to an exaggerated nosebleed by the victim, and it is indeed annoyingly effective. Via NarutoChaos)   
_Okama_: gay   
_Urusai na_: So noisy   
Gaki: brat   
_Kamikaze_: Divine wind and not suicide bomber. Look it up for more info.   
_Kagokasai_: Divine protection & fire, just combination of two words. Couldn't think of a better name for Flames of Protection.


	2. 2nd Sight: Death

2nd Sight: Death

**Update: 10/22/08**

**Vanished Without a Trace**  
2nd Sight: Death

After that night, Naruto reluctantly made his way back to the town where Jiraiya was having the time of his life. Naruto wasn't even in the mood to search for his sensei as he decided to just return to their hotel room. He was very exhausted from his travels and was looking forward to the comfort of the futon that was waiting for him. As soon as his head hit the mattress, he was deep in slumber land.

When he woke up the next day he had no clue how long he had been asleep but he felt a slight bit of the burden he was carrying gone. He didn't know why, this was but he definitely wasn't going to complain about it.

"About time you woke up, kid… Have fun on you trip?" Jiraiya was sitting in a chair to the side of the bed jotting down a couple of things on a pad.

"How long was I out?"

"Three days."

"Three days!? Why didn't you wake me?"

"I considered it an extended vacation." A perverted grin split across his face, causing Naruto to sigh.

Naruto glanced to the corner of the room where he had placed his clothes and noticed that both of his katana were pulsating wildly. Wildly enough that it caused Jiraiya to also glance over there as well.

"I've been meaning to ask you but where did you get that katana? It seems to have it's own chakra supply like _Kamikaze_."

"A memento from Ren…"

"So, how was the man? Did you see him to the port?" Naruto looked at him for a second then back over to corner.

"It seems to be like _Kamikaze _in many ways. I named it _Kagokasai_ because it has a natural fire affinity." Jiraiya quickly noticed how Naruto evaded the question and quickly understood the entire situation. Deciding that if Naruto didn't want to talk about it, then he wasn't going to press the issue. He was surprised the kid wasn't as depressed as he thought he would be.

"_Kagokasai, _eh? Think it could be another one of those artifacts?"

"Positive."

"But if we go by what we already learned about these artifacts of the past, it should only react to you if you have a bijuu sealed within you and your affinity matches it."

"Well, it works for me just like _Kamikaze _but it's much more wild and violent. I literally created a wave of fire. Plus, how much do we really know about these artifacts? I never even heard of them until you gave me _Kamikaze _for my birthday." Jiraiya noticed how mature he was acting about Ren's death and also how intelligent he was sounding for once.

"True, when did you grow up on me, gaki?" Naruto gave him a questioning look.

"Nani?"

"Nothing… Vacation's over. Time to get some training in."

"Hai…" Naruto rose out of his bed and began to head toward the bathroom.

Even though Naruto didn't notice it, that was the beginning of his maturity phase setting in. Over the next year, Jiraiya and Naruto would continue their travels together while researching more information about the artifacts, Akatsuki, and the whereabouts of Orochimaru and Sasuke. In their free time, Jiraiya would further train Naruto in everything he knew. Unlike before, Naruto was soaking up all of the knowledge and learning the jutsu at an alarming rate. Almost as quick as his father would when he was Jiraiya's student.

Also during this time, Naruto began to take on a lot of solo jobs and isolate himself from Jiraiya more and more. It got to the point where he would leave Jiraiya for weeks with only the job details and his possible whereabouts if he needed to contact him. Naruto had learned a jutsu that allowed him to summon small kitsune that would carry messages between him and Jiraiya when needed. Even though Jiraiya was a little worried about Naruto's well being, he still figured it was all a part of puberty. He figured that most young teens would become rebellious and want to roam as far from the nest as possible and he knew Naruto would be no different. Plus, he considered this as mental and terrain training for him, one of the greatest tools a shinobi should have is knowledge of his surroundings, and with Naruto constantly taking on solo missions he would learn the territories of the many lands surrounding the land of fire.

A couple of weeks after the one-year anniversary of his first solo mission to Atsumi Port, Naruto decided to take on a job that offered him twice as much than any mission he had done in the past year. Now fifteen, Naruto had more than a few tricks up his sleeve plus the mastery of both _Kamikaze _and _Kagokasai_ when using them one at a time, giving him the confidence he needed to take on this job. He learned from past dealings that the higher the pay the more dangerous the job was and he had a feeling that this one would be a hell of a task. The fact that he didn't get the entire details up front gave him that feeling. He would have to travel to Oka, a large valley city surrounded by mountains on every side. The journey would lead him deep into the Land of Earth, which was the reason why Naruto decided to where a large cloak covering him to hide his appearance. He looked too much like his father, and he didn't want any Iwa-nin attacking him while he was on this mission.

The one accompanying him on his journey was a solemn old man whose job was to find a capable suitor for the job, and to bring them to the city. As soon as they reached the canyon that looked over the city the old man stopped and looked at Naruto.

"What is it, oji-san?"

"This is as far as I will take you, Uzumaki-san."

"What do you mean? How do you suppose I get down there and where will I go once I get in the city?"

"There will be men waiting for you in the city and they will contact you. I have sent them a description of your appearance. The way down there is for you to decide Uzumaki-san. This is a part of the test my master set up to see if you truly are suitable to take this job." Naruto glared at the man for a second before sighing.

"Fine… if this turns out to be some type of a trap I will come back for your head, got it?" The old man remained expressionless as he turned his back to Naruto and began to walk off in the other direction. Naruto only frowned at the man for not taking his threat seriously. He probably thought he wasn't capable of doing either of the things.

"There is probably a route or slope I could go on to get down there but I don't really have the patience to look for one. Oh, well…." With that said, Naruto did something that the old man was not expecting, he literally leaped off the cliff head first. The old man was pretending to not pay attention to the blond, and when he saw that the teen had jumped off he rushed to the edge to see.

Naruto's body was spiralling down like an arrow that was sent firing toward its target. Suddenly Naruto began to go through a few seals before pulling out a kunai and launching it toward the ground. Quicker than an average blink, Naruto had literally teleported from mid-air to the ground under his feet. The old man nearly fell off the cliff in disbelief.

"He definitely is suitable for this role..."

Naruto glanced around making sure no one saw him before picking up the kunai and placing it in his side pouch. He glanced up just to see how high of a fall it would have been if he had messed up on one of the seals.

"I really didn't want to use that jutsu when I'm still no good at it and especially in this place of all places."

"Uzumaki-dono?"

"Who needs to know?" Naruto quickly placed his hand in his pouch slightly gripping the handle of another kunai.

"No need to be alarmed Uzumaki-dono, our master is waiting for you." A man appeared with two other behind him. Naruto then remembered that the old man had told him that there would be people down there waiting for him.

"Did you see how I got down here?"

"No, I didn't."

"Good."

"Nani?"

"Don't worry about it. So, where are we heading?"

"To the capital building in the center of the city but the way we will be taking will be the underground route."

"Underground route?"

"Hai, your client is the Lord of this city, and it would lower his reputation greatly his the public saw he was hiring mercenaries for random jobs."

"I'm not…"

"Hai, we already know you are a training shinobi, Uzumaki-dono but as long as your are taking random jobs without your village's consent for money, you will also be called a mercenary as well." the man interrupted.

"Good point, lead the way…" Naruto said with a tinge of animosity in his voice and extending the last syllable, clearly asking for a name.

"There is no need to know our names, Uzumaki-dono."

"Very well then."

The three men lead Naruto into a regular store and nodded to the store clerk, who nodded back as the four of them walked into the back room, where there was a hidden door on the floor that led them to the underground tunnels that travelled all below Oka.

"I see… this would make for an excellent escape route in case something were to happen." Naruto said as the other three continued to ignore him. Naruto sighed out loud as he crossed his arms, unbeknownst to them, he had a kunai in each hand ready for anything they would throw at him. Despite his attitude, Naruto was in high alert, his attitude was only meant to lure them into thinking that he wasn't expecting anything.

The walk took about a good ten minutes until they reached another stairway that lead upward to another hidden room. Behind these doors waiting was his client, the person who would finally tell him what his mission entailed.

Upon entering the room, he saw a very familiar blonde kunoichi who was literally gaping at the sight of him.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" The two yelled as the pointed at each other.

"So, this is the guy I was waiting for to be my partner!?"

"Partner!? I work alone!" Naruto yelled.

"Well, it seems you two know each other, that will make this mission that much easier for the two of you." The man who said this was sitting on some kind of throne wearing a white and grey robe.

"I said I work alone!" Naruto yelled as he started to head back down stairs.

"Don't you dare talk to Yamainu-sama that way!" one of his servants yelled.

"I will increase your pay by half as much if you agree to work with Nii-san." Yamainu smirked as Naruto stopped dead in his tracks.

"Deal!"

"Nani? What about increasing my pay?" Yugito argued.

"You have already failed once, you are lucky I am not cancelling our contract." Yugito huffed crossing her arms as she glared at Naruto, who only ignored her.

"So, what are the details?"

"You and Nii-san will travel to the shrine within the Forest of Yami and retrieve a weapon that was stolen from me. The shrine is heavily guarded so do not take this job lightly, Uzumaki-san."

"Sure thing, so when do you want us to head out?"

"Now if possible. Do you need any rest or anything, Uzumaki-san?"

"No, I can leave now if needed."

"Very well then, I expect that the two of you should be more than enough to handle this job. Don't disappoint me now." A smile crept across his face that made Naruto feel uneasy.

"Don't I have a say in this?"

"Not really since my pay is higher than yours, meaning I'm in charge." Naruto said without even looking at her which really sent her off, but she had no choice but to follow him. At least until they got outside.

"Huno-san will escort you two to the outskirts of the forest where the rest will be up to you." Huno bowed to Yamainu as he motioned for the two of them to follow him back down the stairs. Once they got in the tunnels Yugito, began her complaining once again.

"I can't believe this!"

"You should've finished the job the first time, and then you wouldn't had have to see my face again."

"Eh? You think you're better than me now, gaki?"

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"I'm fifteen, which means I'm only a year younger so please stop calling me a gaki! Hell, I'm even taller than you!" Yugito started to say something but pause as she took notice of his figure. He indeed was taller than her; he had grown since they last met. He was now six foot one and looked very manly to her. Not to mention that he was quite attractive with the way he was looking at her, which caused her to blush.

"Nani?" she snapped out of her trance and shook her head.

"Nothing."

'_He is quite handsome…'_

"Where is your team like last time?" Naruto asked as he glanced at her.

"Team?"

"Yeah, the guys who attacked me last time."

"Oh them? They weren't my team-mates, I was just hired by them to help them steal what the man was carrying since they heard he had hired a bodyguard."

"Huh? Why were you alone on that?"

"Why were _you_ alone?"

"Training…"

"Uh huh… sure… Well, as I already told you before, the council would rather see me dead than alive so they send me out on a lot of missions away from the village and to keep a tab on me they have an ANBU officer secretly trail me just in case I don't do anything out of line like defect to another village."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I figured you could relate to me in all. You're the only person I know who shares the same burden yet has a brain of his own."

"Huh? You know another?"

"…" She glanced toward the wall not wanting to look at him hoping he would change the subject.

"Too late now, you started it and it's not like I'm going to repeat all of this, we can make sure this guy here doesn't." They both turn and look at Huno, who was walking in front of them.

"Whatever… Kumogakure actually has two jinchuuriki. The other one drives me up to the wall with his arrogance towards me just because he has mastered the full potential of his bijuu, which is stronger than the one I have within me. He also has the backing of the village and is not a rogue like me. Those bastard old men even had the audacity to try to _mate _us like we were beasts! Of course, I didn't let that happen which added another strike to my name in their eyes." The thoughts of Yugito _mating _caused Naruto to do something he normally wouldn't. He began to take a closer look at Yugito's _curves _and her breasts, which easily enticed him causing him to trail off the conversation.

"What's wrong with you?" Yugito asked snapping Naruto out of his own trance as she realized he was staring at her chest, causing her to blush again. Naruto also turned red as he quickly diverted his attention the ceilings. At first, Yugito was upset about his perversion but quickly felt flattered that he actually looked at her like a lady. Something that not many men did due to her having a bijuu sealed within her, not to mention the fact she could kill them in a second.

"What about you?" Yugito said trying to change the tide.

"Huh?"

"I can't be the only one spilling my guts here, _partner_." Still too embarrassed to look at her, Naruto looked ahead at Huno as he began to speak.

"Why are trying to be so friendly with me? We're still supposed to be enemies, you know?"

"True, but we are _partners _now so spill it or I'll make you spill it." She threatened in a playful tone. Naruto sighed as he decided to tell her a little bit about his misery.

"Picture for the first thirteen birthdays of your life were actually the worst days of your life."

"Nani?"

"My birthday was the very same day that the bijuu that was sealed within me attacked the village. On the day of my birth both of my parents died, and every birthday after that except the last two I was attacked and nearly left for dead by the villagers."

"Gomen… I didn't have it that rough."

"It's ok, I got used to it and it made me stronger."

"That something you shouldn't get used to, baka!" Yugito yelled as she grabbed his hand forcing him to look at her in the eyes. The two of them paused for a second as they stared at each other locked with a deep look.

"We're here. These stairs lead up to the Forest of Yami." Huno said snapping the two of them out of the their trance.

"Great…" Naruto said as he was the first to come back to his senses and head up the stairs. Yugito soon followed after him.

As soon as Naruto stepped foot on the surface he noticed how dark it was. He didn't think they took that long to get to the forest since when he arrived in the city it was still the morning. He turned around and glanced at Yugito and Huno who knew exactly what he was going to ask.

"This is why it is called the Forest of Yami. It is always night-time here for some reason. Some believe it's thanks to a powerful genjutsu that one of the guards of the shrine cast." Yugito explained as she walked ahead of him.

"I see… This is you second time coming through here, right? What happened the first time?"

"Let's just say that I underestimated how dangerous this forest really is."

"Is that all?"

"You will see once we go in deeper." The two of them turned around and looked at Huno as he bowed politely before heading back down the stairs and closed the hidden trap door behind him. Yugito was about to say something to Naruto when he closed his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Suddenly four clones appeared in a puff of white smoke. Thanks to Jiraiya's rigorous training and Naruto's determination, he learned how to summon clones without using any seals nor words, which is commonly used as an additional focus. But he was only limited to summoning a few unlike the massive amounts when he used seals. All five Narutos glanced at Yugito with the original smiling. "Nani?"

"Just watch." He pointed to the entrance to the forest ordering the clones to dash into the forest in four different directions. "They will act as our scouts. Do you know the exact location of the shrine?"

"Yeah… but how will those clones help us?"

"I learned a little trick that has help me greatly. Whatever my clones do, when they disappear I will remember everything, more than help me for training and scouting missions."

"Why, aren't you full of surprises." She joked.

"You haven't seen anything yet. Now, please lead the way." A sarcastic smile crept across Yugito face as she walked into the forest.

"The shrine is in the centre of the forest."

After walking around for about twenty minutes, Naruto decided that it would be better to try to get some information on their opponent from his "partner".

"How skilled are the guards?"

"I never made it that far." Suddenly one of Naruto's clones was taking out by something large.

"What the…?" Naruto started to say but several trees were pushed down causing both him and Yugito to have to scramble away. Naruto shot a glance at Yugito who only shrug her shoulders.

"I told you I never made it to the shrine."

"Well, what the hell stopped you from making it!?"

"That thing!" Yugito yelled as she pointed at a large kage no ookami that was lurking over them. Naruto quickly turned around and slung two shuriken at it dodging its paw as it slammed against the forest floor. The shuriken bounced off the forehead of the shadow forcing Naruto to rethink his strategy.

"Good job!"

"I don't see you helping me!"

Naruto finally decided to release the genjutsu that was hiding his two katana and unsheathed his _Kamikaze _as he quickly flashed through a couple of seals.

"What are you planning?"

"You know a couple of fire jutsu, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"On my command, I'm going to need you to use your strongest fire jutsu!" The shadow swiped its paw at Naruto as he was talking to Yugito. He quickly leaped on top of the paw as it landed and did a back flip off of it and landed behind Yugito. The kage no ookami began to charge toward them with its mouth wide open.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"Use that jutsu now!"

"Whatever!" Yugito quickly began to run through several sets of seals before stopping on tora. "Katon: Karyuu Endan!" Her mouth gaped a large ball of fire shot out from it in the form of a massive dragon charging toward the kage no ookami. "I have already tried this but you will just have to learn out the hard way!"

"Kazekagerou!" Naruto yelled as he violently swung his katana creating a wind silhouette of a dragonfly. The wind actually combined with the fire dragon created by Yugito and nearly tripled in size creating an all-new dragon shape as it literally engulfed the kage no ookami destroying it instantly. Yugito couldn't believe what she was seeing with her own eyes.

"Told you, you haven't seen anything yet!" Naruto said as he re-sheathed his katana.

"Yeah… yeah, whatever…" Yugito couldn't help but smile as she began to walk off trying her best not to show it.

"But it wouldn't have worked if it wasn't for that powerful fire jutsu you used…"

"Sweet talking me won't get you anywhere, you know?" She shot back with a grin on her face.

"I'll see about that…" He mumbled under his breath.

It took the two of them another hour before they reached the shrine. It seemed that after they got rid of the kage no ookami, everything else seemed to quiet down. Two of the three clones landed on each side of the shrine and began to investigate the surroundings. Suddenly both clones were taken out quickly.

"Looks like we are not out of the woods yet, ne?" Naruto said as he pulled out a special kunai and slung it against the wall of the shrine.

"What the hell are you doing now?"

"Shut up and just hold on to me." Naruto ordered with a little bit of a commanding tone. Yugito started to talk back but decided to just listen to him. He was right before so there was a chance that he could be right again. She began to blush furiously has she wrapped her arms around his waist. Even though she couldn't see it, Naruto was blushing as well.

"This better not be some kind of pervert fantasy you are trying to pull."

"Urusai…" Naruto growled as he went through a few seals before the two of them teleported to the shrine wall.

"… What the hell was that?"

"A jutsu my dad created."

"Are you serious? That was crazy…"

"Yeah… I know. It is hard as hell to do too. He could even do it with multiple kunai at the same time."

"I think I heard of something like this before… something about a yellow flash?"

"That was my dad."

"You mean to tell me that your dad was the…"

"Yeah… Yeah." it seemed that over the year Naruto had grown to resent the comparisons between him and his father unlike before.

"Gomen…"

"Don't worry about it, ne?"

The two of them slowly crept through the entrance of the shrine with two kunai in each hand, thanks to Naruto's clone they already knew that the place was being guarded but they didn't know where the guards had moved.

As soon as they entered the shrine they saw the item that Yamainu had hired them to obtain for him. The weapon turned out to be a scythe with diamonds swirling all the way around the staff.

"Well, it is pretty flashy." Yugito said as she stared at it.

"Hurry up and grab it so we can get the hell out of here."

Yugito began to slowly walk toward the weapon when suddenly two hands grabbed her wrist from out of nowhere and slung her against the wall. Naruto threw both his kunai at the area of the hands. Both kunai landed right between both guards' eyes as they appeared and both guards crashed to the ground. Naruto jogged towards Yugito and helped her up.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nice throw."

Suddenly the two guards rose back to their feet and pulled out the kunai that were lodged in their foreheads.

"What the hell? They should be dead…" Naruto said as he pulled out two more kunai. Yugito quickly charged in and landed heavy blows to the first guard's chest sending him crashing back to the floor. The male blond landed another kunai into the second guard's face and landed two blows of his own to the chest of the guard. The two sun-kissed Jinchuuriki leaped backwards as the two guards once again climbed back to their feet.

"Why wont they die!!" Yugito yelled as she began to go through a couple of seals before yelling "Katon: Kazangansen Genkotsu no Jutsu!" Both Yugito's hands burst into flames as she charged toward the guards and unleashed a massive barrage of flaming punches upon the guards literally setting them ablaze. But just like everything else they tried, it was to no avail.

"Screw it, just grab the scythe, I'll hold them off!" Naruto yelled as he created another clone and began to engage the guards on his own.

As Yugito reached for the scythe a third guard almost stabbed her with a dagger, if it wasn't for Naruto stepping in the way that is. As soon as Naruto was stabbed, his other clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. Once again, Yugito couldn't believe what she was seeing. For a moment, the look of pain on his face froze her on the spot. The blow was fatal, she knew it.

"Naruto…?"

"Run." Naruto said as he too disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"When did he…?" She thought out loud for a second before dashing off with the scythe out of the shrine, just to meet Naruto at the entrance with his _Kagokasai _hand. "What are you going to do now?"

He motioned her to quickly move to the side as his tighten his grip on the handle of the katana before yelling, "Kakikagerou!" as he swung it generate a massive wave of fire taking the shape of a dragonfly into the shrine. The velocity of the attack literally caused the shrine to explode pushing both of them several yards back. Yugito quickly got up and grabbed Naruto by his neck.

"IF YOU EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF!!" she yelled causing Naruto to chuckle a little.

"Sure thing…"

The trip back to the stairs was a lot quicker due to the fact that they were running all of the way back. They both knew that those _immortal _guards could still be chasing after them and they didn't want to take any chances.

Because the secret trap door that lead back to Yamainu's office was locked from the inside, Yugito had to show him the way into the town. Luckily for them Yamainu had his man waiting for them, which they were quickly spotted by him as they entered the city and escorted them back to the Yamainu's office.

Yamainu was seating there with a very pleased look on his face as they entered with the scythe in hand. He nodded toward his servant he quickly exited the room.

"I knew adding Uzumaki-san to the job would get things done properly. Now I am more than happy that I offered you that raise."

"Uh… Arigatou for the compliment, but I don't think I could've done it without Yugito."

"Eh? But you…" Naruto held up his hand stopping her from talking.

"I also see that you two actually bonded a little. That's good, now would you hand me my weapon back Nii-san."

"…Sure thing."

Yugito nodded as she handed him the scythe. The slim man stood up and examined the blade before swinging it freely.

"Hmmm… Nice, but not nice enough."

"Come again?" Naruto asked.

"This one is not the one I needed but _Uzumaki-san…_" He said as a demented grin crept on his face.

"_Yeah…?_" Naruto inquired matching the same tone Yamainu used. Suddenly, quicker than both of them could blink, Yamainu was in Naruto's face already in swinging motion with the scythe. Yugito was barely quick enough to kick Naruto out of the way.

"What the hell are you doing!!" Yugito yelled as she pulled out a kunai and entered a defensive stance.

"What am I doing you ask? Well…" Before he finished his sentence he appeared behind Yugito and kicked her in the back sending her crashing onto the floor. "You see… Uzumaki-san has two items that also belong to me as well and I plan on taking them as well."

"Let me guess, the scythe wasn't originally yours anyway and when you grabbed it, you learned that it didn't work for you. But how did you know about my katana?"

"You guys remember my pet, right?"

"Pet?" Yugito asked as she stood up.

"The kage no ookami."

"That was you!?" Yugito yelled.

"I needed to test you two to see if you really could get the scythe and I'm happy to say you guys passed with flying colours. And as an added bonus for me I learned that Uzumaki-san just happened to carry not one artefact but two. I knew this was an excellent idea."

"Well I have bad news for you Yamainu… These won't work for you either. There is a secret needed to unlock the power."

"Oh, really? Something like having a bijuu sealed with you?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, don't try to play dumb with me. I know both of you have a bijuu sealed within you. The Kyuubi and the Nekomata." Yugito's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Kyuubi!? That what's sealed within you, Naruto?"

"Yeah… what about it?"

"You baka! The Kyuubi no Youko was the strongest of the nine bijuu!"

"Your point?"

"Indeed, but I also know both of you are still inexperienced with using the bijuu's powers unlike me who has already taken full control over mine."

"Nani?" Both Naruto and Yugito said as they glared at him.

"Hai… I am the jinchuuriki of the Gobi no Houkou!" He yelled as his chakra began flare out of control as his human traits were beginning to be replaced by ookami traits. Yamainu's chakra began to push both Yugito and Naruto back against the wall.

Yamainu raised one hand and created a massive wave of wind that literally destroyed the office pushing them into an auditorium.

"He has a wind affinity too?" Naruto asked as he released the genjutsu that was hiding his katana. He unsheathed _Kagokasai _and sent a wave of fire crashing towards Yamainu.

"You wish it was only that!" Yamainu yelled as he created a large wall of water negating Naruto's attack. "Unlike all the other bijuu, the Houkou was the only one who had control over the four major elements… The ookami was the third strongest of all the bijuu and I will be more than strong enough to take you two out since you cant even grasp the potential you hold while I have everything maxed out!"

Naruto began to leap backwards with _Kagokasai _still in his hand. He began to glance around for Yugito but she was nowhere in sight. He needed to find her so they could devise some sort of plan together but when he found her, she was too far from him to say anything.

Yugito had used her speed to get behind Yamainu and tried to stab a kunai in his back, but he had already sensed her coming. He quickly backhanded her sending her to the ground and tried to slice her in half with the scythe. Naruto quickly appeared in-between them using his katana to fend off Yamainu's attack. The younger male pushed back on Yamainu causing him to tilt backwards while Yugito took this time to drop kick him to the ground. Naruto took advantage of his position and tried to stab him with his katana. But before he could land the final blow, Yamainu caused rocks to burst through the floor and collide with Naruto's body sending him crashing into the other fair-haired ninja.

"That hurt…" Yugito groaned as she pushed Naruto off of her.

Yamainu leaped back on his feet and continued his attack.

"I figured I will just kill you two now before I have to deal with a powerful Nekomata and not to mention that damned Kyuubi. I already have my hands full with Yamata no Orochi."

"Well, it's nice to know that you like us so much and all but I don't plan on dying here today. Katon: Kazangansen Shintai no Jutsu!" Yugito yelled as her entire body burst into flames and her speed nearly tripled. "Now… let's play, shall we?"

In the blink of an eye, she was in front of Yamainu unloading a massive combo of punches and kicks that carried the added affects of fire with each blow. Each attack shook every fiber within Yamainu's body but it still wasn't enough as Yamainu's body vanished in a puff of smoke. As soon as Yugito caught on to his original chakra signature, he was already behind her swinging his scythe. At the last second, Naruto leapt in front of the blow. Yugito was forced to watch as the blade of the scythe ripped into the flash of her protector's chest causing blood to splatter all over herself. Naruto, using the last of his strength, grabbed the scythe from Yamainu and pulled it away from him.

"Naruto…? Didn't I tell you if you did this to me again I would kill you, right?"

Yamainu tried to ripped the scythe out of Naruto, but Yugito, still in her flaming state, landed a couple of real blows sending him crashing against the ground. Yugito then cancelled her jutsu and grabbed Naruto.

"Naruto? This is a clone, right?" He looked up at her with a smirk on his face. At first she started to believe that it really was but her relief became terror when she saw his eyes glaze over with the same expression on his face.

"Naruto? Naruto…? NARUTO!!"

"Good… One down and a Nibi to go…"

"SHUT UP!" Yugito yelled as she felt the Nekomata's chakra take a hold of her. Just like Naruto and Yamainu, she began to take on her bijuu's animalistic features.

"This might be fun after all… To see you unleash all of your bijuu abilities and launch them at me. The problem is you still won't be enough to handle me. You are merely lower than me on the totem pole." Yamainu grinned as he stood up.

But right before she lost herself to the power she felt the pulsating chakra of another unfamiliar source. She knew it wasn't Naruto or Yamainu but it felt so close to her. She glanced down at the scythe and watched it pulsate uncontrollably as if it was demanding her to grab it.

She picked up the scythe and gently began to pull it out of Naruto until she felt the weapon began to draw power from her chakra and began to glow. Every fiber of her being wanted Naruto to return to her, it was with this sentiment that she felt a pull from the weapon. Not knowing what was going on, she decided to give into to the scythe's command and watched as Naruto body also began to glow as well until the life returned to his eyes.

"Nani…? How long was I out?"

"How could this be? I thought you were dead?" Yugito said as she dropped to her knees and hugged the returning life out of the boy.

"It seems that this artefact is the artefact of death… should have known that cursed Nekomata would come back to hunt me." Naruto weakly glanced over at Yamainu who was glaring at the two of them.

"You sound like you _are_ the Gobi no Houkou." Naruto said as he tried to move. The Kyuubi had already began to heal his wounds and he slowly felt his life return to him.

"Heh… that's because I am him… unlike the Kyuubi and the Nekomata, I have full control over my jinchuuriki." Yamainu said as his dog like eyes began to glow with a grey aura.

"What do you know of the artefacts?" Naruto asked.

"More than you apparently… But one word of advice for the two of you… don't go trying to revive every person that died on you. Uzumaki-san is a special case since the Kyuubi has the uncanny ability to keep him on the border between life and death much longer than anybody. Even though he was dead, with the help of the Kyuubi you were able to revive him, but I don't think it will work on everyone and it may not work again in the future."

"Why are you telling us this?" Yugito asked.

"You two have sparked my interest, so I decided to give you two gifts and a warning for you Uzumaki-san. That was the first gift."

"Warning?"

"The Nekomata in the past teamed up with me to kill the Kyuubi, but we both failed… The Nekomata could be hungry for revenge just like I am…"

"What are you talking about?" Yugito asked.

"You two may find out…"

"What is the second gift?" Naruto asked. Yamainu smirked as he began to fade away.

"Freedom… For today that is…" And with that, Yamainu had completely disappeared from their sight. It wasn't for a few minutes until they felt safe once again. Naruto looked up at Yugito and smiled.

"Arigatou…" Yugito smiled back before punching him right in the face.

"What the hell was that for!!" He yelled placing a hand on the sore spot.

"That was for dying on me!" she smirked before pulling him closer to her and stealing his lips. At first he tried to fight it off flailing his arms but he quickly gave in to her as he began to return the kiss. "And don't you ever leave me again!" she bellowed as she pulled back allowing a few tears to roll down her cheeks. Naruto didn't know what to say about all of this. This was the first time anyone had ever kissed him or showed this type of affection towards him. He was so used to having a one-sided relationship with Sakura that he never imagined that someone would ever have feelings for _him_.

During that time he forgot all about everything that had plagued him in the past, he was already beginning to feel that everything he was doing was for someone else and not for himself. This was the first time he was going to put himself first. No longer was he going to miss everything around him just because he was too busy looking at what's in front of him.

"Don't worry… I won't." And just as he said that, Yugito seemed to remember the little problem of their two villages hating each other. Naruto somehow instantly deduced what she was thinking. "Don't worry about that either…"

**II**

Jiraiya was finally returning from his latest adventure in perversion when he saw that the light was on in the hotel room that Naruto and he shared through the cracks of the door. He opened the door with a large grin on his face, obviously thinking the blond was about the room.

"So how much did you make this time, gaki? Think you can loan me some for to…" Before Jiraiya finished his sentence he stumbled across a dead body laying on the middle of the floor. As he took a closer look he noticed that it was an ANBU office from Kumogakure and to the side of him were two Hitai-ate. one from Konoha and the other from Kumo… Jiraiya knew exactly what that meant and sighed out loud.

"Tsunade is going to kill me…"

**Translations**:   
- _Forest of Yami_: Forest of Darkness   
- _Kage no Ookami_: Shadow Wolf   
- _Katon: Karyuu Endan_: Fire Element: Fire Dragon Blast (Shoots an enormous ball of flame shaped like a dragon from the user's mouth. Via )   
- _Kazekagerou_: Wind Dragonfly (A massive amount of wind that takes the form of a dragonfly that has it's own consciousness for a short period of time. An original jutsu)   
- _Katon: Kazangansen Genkotsu no Jutsu_: Fire Element: Volcanic Fist (User focuses a large amount of chakra fused with the element of fire into their hands added the burning effects of fire to each one of their hand attacks. An original jutsu)   
- Kakikagerou: Fire Dragonfly (A massive amount of fire that takes the form of a dragonfly that has it's own consciousness for a short period of time. An original jutsu)   
- Katon: Kazangansen Shintai no Jutsu: Fire Element: Volcanic Body (The user focuses all the fire fused chakra into their body causes it to emit a large amount of fire increasing the effects of all their attacks. An original jutsu)


	3. 3rd Sight: The Return

3rd Sight: The Return

**Author's Notes: How's going guys? Lol sorry about the whole 'ya' problem I had earlier before I edited. I was trying to separate the dialect styles of this story and Immanence but I quickly leaned that everybody hated it. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter; less action than the previous two but I still added as much content as I could. Thanks once again for your support and look forward to your reviews.******

Update: 10/22/08

**Vanished Without a Trace**  
3rd Sight: The Return

In the Hokage Tower, another blonde was having a major craving for a little bit of sake thanks to the amount of paperwork she had just finished going through. And thanks to the fact that her ever-diligent protégé was not by her side like always. She decided that now would be the perfect time to get herself a drink. That is until she felt the obnoxious presence of one very annoying hentai excuse of a man.

"You're not getting any." She said after sighing to herself.

"Awww… You don't have to be so mean, Tsunade-hime."

"You're back a year early."

"About that…"

"Did anything happen? Where's Naruto?"

"You might want to take a couple of drinks before we begin talking about such trivial things." Her right eye only twitched as she gave Jiraiya a look that made him wish he was dead, a request that might have been answered when she found out about Naruto.

Jiraiya took a sit in front of Tsunade on the other side of the desk and braced himself for anything she was going to throw at him, including the desk itself.

"Uh… I don't really know where the gaki is."

"NANI!! DID THE AKATSUKI CATCH HIM! HOW COULD YOU HAVE LET HIM OUT OF YOUR SIGHT!" Jiraiya quickly leapt up as she literally picked up the desk and started to throw it at him.

"Wait! I'm sure they haven't caught him and I'm positive that he is alive. He ran away with a shinobi from Kumogakure." She paused for a moment before deciding to throw the desk at him anyway. For some reason Jiraiya felt helpless as the desk collided with his unprotected head sending him crashing into the wall. Several ANBU officers along with Shizune rushed into the office to she what all the loud commotion was about.

"Tsunade-sama? Is everything al… Jiraiya-sama?" Shizune quickly rushed over to Jiraiya and began to heal his bloody head wound.

"What do you mean he left with a Kumo-nin!? If you knew this then why in hell did you not go get him!?"

"I-I-I tried… over the years the gaki got pretty good at hiding his chakra and stealth jutsu. You-d be surprised how good he actually got over the two years."

"I don't care about that! Why in hell did you come back here without Naruto!?"

"Naruto's missing?" Shizune asked as panic became evident on her face.

"I came back to request some help in the matter. I'm pretty sure Kakashi and his hounds could track down Naruto easily. So, I came back to get him as long as you allowed it."

"Kakashi was assigned to another mission already."

"When will he back?"

"He left two days ago and wont return till sometime next week."

"Which way did he go? I can still catch up with…" Suddenly, they all heard a soft tap at the window of the Hokage office. All of them turned around as a golden kitsune leaped through the window breaking the glass in the process. Shizune quickly pulled out several tiny kunai and was in the motion of lunching them when the kitsune began to speak.

"I have a message from Naruto-sama. It is for Baa-chan, ero-sennin, and Shizune-nee-chan." It yipped in a high-pitched voice.

"I see he still hasn't matured much…" Tsunade said as she rolled her eyes trying to quell her anger.

The fox cleared its throat twice, much to the surprise of the spectators and perfectly imitated Naruto's voice. "Don't bother looking for me. It was my idea to leave in the first place. So, don't worry, I'm not captured or being forced to say this. I decided that my life would be better if I actually parted ways with Konoha for a little while. I may return or I may not, so I will not make any promises in this regard. The main reason why I am doing this is because I think it is about time I start thinking more about myself than others. I know this may sound selfish and all, but for the majority of my life I have been either blamed for something that wasn't my fault or forced to live for others just to prove to everyone of my existence as a capable shinobi and not the Kyuubi no Youko. I really wished I was there to tell you all this in person but I'm sure you guys would literally force me to stay, gomen-nasai. Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing; the kunoichi from Kumogakure is my companion, so don't get any ideas that she kidnapped me or something like that. Ja ne!"

"What the hell is this?" The blonde asked eyeing the dark yellow creature, which in turn turned its gaze at her.

"This is one of the gaki's summons. He formed a contract with the Kyuubi to gain control over demonic kitsune." Jiraiya said as he tried to think up his next move.

"Hey, where is Naruto now? Tell me!" Tsunade demanded in a manner that sent a chill up the spine of every shinobi in the room, including Jiraiya. The kitsune only smirked, completely unaffected, before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

"Damn kitsune… Jiraiya, I'm going to give you the details on Kakashi mission. As soon as he is finished you two will begin to the search for Naruto, when you find him, make sure you leave him alive so I can kill him myself." Tsunade reached into one of her file cabinets and pulled out a scroll and handed it to Jiraiya. Jiraiya only nodded before leaping out of the broken window.

Sakura was walking about this time when she saw Jiraiya leap out of the Hokage office's window and quickly rushed up to the office.

"Goshuushou-sama! Did Naruto come back early? Is he alright?" Tsunade slightly glanced at Sakura from the corner of her eye before turning her back to her. Shizune walked up to Sakura and gently escorted her out of the office.

"Naruto deserted the village, he might not come back…" Shizune said with a sad look in her eyes.

"Nani…?"

**II**

Even with the added help of Kakashi and his shinobi hounds, the two of them couldn't find even the smallest trace of Naruto and Yugito. Even if Naruto's skills in stealth had increased immensely, it still shouldn't had been enough to evade the hunt according to Jiraiya. But the important factor that he didn't know about was of Yugito's skills. She had been trained in these types of situations since she was young, which let them remain well hidden not only from Konoha but all of the people who would have a reason to come after them.

Even though Jiraiya and Kakashi didn't have any luck finding Naruto after searching for about two months, the overall search for Naruto began when the councils of both Konohagakure and Kumogakure caught wind of Naruto and Yugito's desertion. At first, the two villages cooperated with each other using a very uncommon temporary peace treaty until old blood began to boil as tempers began to rise, like everyone predicted. Over the years the tension between the two villages was similar to a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

In the fifth year of Naruto and Yugito's absence, the tension between the two villages was at an all time high. War was evident, which would give Iwagakure a reason to attack as well, which would force Sunagakure to act. Things began to feel more and more like the Forth Shinobi War was around the nearest corner.

**III**

For some unknown reason, over ten camps in the outskirts of Konoha, that were rumored to be bandit camps, were raided over the past two weeks. There were no survivors recorded. Only the remnants of a scuffle and the smell of burnt flesh were left.

The Hokage normally would have ignored this incident if it wasn't for the fact that all of this was happening so close to home, not to mention the fact that the Kazekage was also visiting Konoha at this time along with the upcoming Chuunin exams. Several shinobi were sent out to investigate the last campsite that was attacked. Konoha needed to know that these attacks pose no threat to Konoha and Suna.

"Taichou, are you sure this is the place?" One of the ANBU officer said as he glanced around the camp-site.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" The Taichou asked over the headset they were using to communicate. They had decided to split into two different groups; a scout group that was to head to the campground first and survey the land, while the secondary team main job was to act as back up just in case there was an ambush waiting for them.

"There is nothing here. Everything looks…B-b-backup!!"

"Kainu? Kainu come in!" The Taichou paused for a second hoping there would be a reply but static was the only thing that was heard after that.

"Everyone move out!" The leader yelled as the entire squad quickly dashed onto the scene to see several of their own team-mates on the ground. The first thing the Taichou did was check to see if they were still alive while the other three were on look out. Thankfully, all of them were still alive and only were unconscious, nothing life-threatening.

"I see your employer has finally decided to step up the game a little bit and hired some shinobi." A voice was heard over the far distance of the trees. All of the shinobi went into a defensive stance as the Taichou stood up.

"What are you talking about?" the Taichou asked. Silence only followed as the wind began to gently blow pass them.

Suddenly two of the shinobi dropped to the ground as they felt the heavy blow of a punch in their stomach. The Taichou felt something fly past her check. Quickly turning around to see what landed, she was surprised to see a dark blur appear in front of her before receiving similar treatment as the other two. The last shinobi was locked in a state of confusion as he frantically searched his surroundings for the assailant. This was his first mission as an ANBU officer and he still was a little green under the ears.

He felt the slight tense of chakra and quickly turned around but fell right into the rouge's trap as he felt a kunai press against his neck.

"So which one of you is in charge?"

"I am…" The ANBU captain said as she slowly rose to her feet. She finally got a good look at what the rogue looked like. He was wearing a dark blue trench coat with black gloves and a black turban covering his head, leaving only his dull blue eyes in sight.

"Since I couldn't get anything out of those bandits earlier, I'm going to ask you this once. Why is Yamainu sending his men this close to Konoha without showing himself? What does that ookami has planned?"

"I-I-I don't know what you talking about…"

"That's not the answer I was looking for…" The rogue said as he started to slit the shinobi's throat.

"Wait!! We are Konoha shinobi, if you take the life of one of our ranks, you will asking for Konoha to declare war on you."

"I have been on the run for years…Why would I care if a village who has already been after me declare war on me?"

"Huh? How long have you been on the run? Would it be about five years?" Something about those brilliant blue eyes of his called to her.

"Why are you asking this?" The Taichou pulled off her mask revealing her long pink dazzling hair and her emerald orbs. The rogue was clearly taken aback by this.

"You are Naruto, aren't you?" Sakura asked as she stared at the rogue before he released the shinobi and unwrapped the turban that was covering his head revealing a head of messy blond hair similar to the style of the Yondaime. "You are!" Sakura yelled as she ran up to her former teammate and gave him a bone-crushing hug that almost killed him.

As Naruto tried to break free of Sakura's grip he noticed that her godly strength wasn't the only thing she acquired from the baa-chan. Her bust size had increased nearly tenfold leaving behind the days she was known as the flat chest of the rookie nine.

"Y-Y-You're killing me Sakura-chan…" Naruto said as he fought for his breath. She released him from her death grip and smiled before landing a heavy right hook to his chin sending him literally soaring into the air. He snapped out of the trance and slung a kunai down at her feet and teleported right beside her with a second kunai aimed at her neck.

"What the hell was that for!?"

"That was for leaving without saying goodbye, you baka!!" Sakura yelled as she tried to restrain the tears that were fighting to be released. "Do you understand how worried I was?"

"Gomen…"

"Don't apologize for your stupidity, you baka!" She yelled again as she glared at him. He stepped back a little bit before Sakura grabbed him once again in her death lock of a hug, this time shaking uncontrollable as the tears began to flow down her cheeks.

"How is baa-chan? Is she still the Hokage?" Sakura released Naruto and wiped her eyes.

"No, she stepped down about two years after you disappeared appointing Kakashi as the Rokudaime."

"Eh? Kakashi-sensei? Wow…"

"A couple of people were disappointed that it wasn't you who took over the position since Goshuushou-sama was only holding it for you." Sakura said as Naruto held his head down, showing a little bit of his regret for making the decision that he made. He quickly smiled as his cerulean orbs literally lit up as he thought of something.

"Can't wait until you meet them."

"_Them?_"

"My pride and joy…"

**IV**

The streets of Konohagakure were more than busy thanks to the return of the Chuunin exams and not to mention the arrival of the Kazekage from Sunagakure. Some people still had the bitter taste in their mouth from the last Chuunin exam when both Suna and Oto launched a full on attack killing many, including the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha. So not only were the streets busy with fresh faces, market stands and villagers, there were also Konoha shinobi on guard everywhere you went. Despite this though, the village still felt like it was about to throw the festival of the year.

One tiny little girl with long blond hair that reached to the back of her calves, sparkling blue and green eyes and wearing a dark blue dress walked into Ichiraku's with a large grin on her face. She looked like she was about four or five years old and it would have been the cutest thing you ever seen if you watched her try to climb up on one of the stools by herself.

"Ojii-san! Umihime wants one bowl of miso ramen, please."

"My, my, aren't you the cute one. Where're your parents?" Ayame said with a large smile on her face.

"Umihime's mama and papa are busy." She answered in a really cute voice. Teuchi appeared by his daughter with a hot bowl of ramen and placed in on the bar with a pair of chopsticks.

"Be careful little one, it's hot."

"Umihime will be fine." She said with a smile on her face before saying grace and digging it. Before Teuchi could get back in the kitchen she was already finished.

"Oji-san! Umihime wants one more!" The young lad shouted. Teuchi glanced at the little girl and couldn't help but think about one Uzumaki Naruto. She reminded him so much of the urchin-haired blond that it made him miss his number one customer.

"If you keeping eating like that, you'll grow up to be fat." A teenage boy said as he finished off his own bowl of ramen, the ramen vendor's daughter sent him a slaying stare.

"No! Umihime won't get fat. Umihime's papa eat lot of ramen and he not fat!"

"Maybe not in your eyes since you're still little."

"Umihime's papa is strongest in the world!" She yelled as she slammed money on the counter.

"Oh, don't worry about paying. These bowls were on me." Ayame said as she winked at the little girl.

"Arigatou, onee-chan!" Umihime said before she bowed politely and ran out of the shop. Ayame then shot the evilest glare at the teenager that caused his heart to stop for an instant.

"Why did you have to pick on her, Konohamaru? For that, you are paying for her two bowls."

"But Ayame-nee-chan?"

"If you ever want to eat here again, then you better do as I said." she said as her glare intensified to impossible levels, leaving Konohamaru with only one solution. Shrieking.

To say Konohamaru was a little upset about him having to pay the little gaki's bill was an understatement. Of course, he didn't make it known until after he left the shop. Even though he had matured from his younger days, he still enjoyed playing pranks like his onii-san, Naruto. So his new goal was to find that little girl and make her pay for emptying the last of his wallet.

Out of the blue, it began to rain and he futilely covered his head with the scarf he normally wore wrapped around his neck.

"Strange… It didn't look like it was going to rain at all today."

After walking for a few more steps, he noticed that he was the only one getting wet. He stopped for a second and glanced around him to make sure he just wasn't seeing things. All of a sudden, he was splashed with a large amount of water almost as if somebody had just poured a bucket's worth over his head. He turned around to see Umihime pointing and laughing hysterical as she was literally rolling on the ground, a now-empty bucket flailing with her movements.

"Why you…" Before he could finish his sentence Umihime sent a gust of wind strong enough to knock him off his feet and onto his back before she took off running. Using his shinobi reflexes, he quickly bounced back on his feet and began to give chase after her.

The little girl saw two females that looked like kunoichi and ran behind the older one and latched to her leg.

"Save Umihime, onee-chan!" She asked acting as if she were terrified for her life.

"Save…?" The woman asked before looking up at a very pissed off Konohamaru.

He was going to continue his pursuit until he took notice of just whom the gaki was hiding behind.

"Hinata-san and Hanabi-chan?"

"Why are you teasing this little girl, Konohamaru-san?" Hinata said with a stern look on her face.

"Huh? You got it all wrong, I wasn't…"

"And I thought you were more mature than the childish baka you used to be. You are even trying to blame it on her." Hanabi scolded.

"Papa? Papa!" Umihime shouted as she rushed over to a tall man with long wild blond hair, cerulean blue eyes, and strange but very attractive whisker birthmarks on his cheeks.

"N-N-N-aruto-kun?" Hinata asked as she glanced up at the _very_ handsome man as he picked up his daughter.

"P-P-Papa!? Then the strongest person in the world she mentioned earlier was onii-san?" Konohamaru said as his skin went pale.

Hanabi knew of her sister's huge crush on Naruto, which refused to go away even long after he left. She had tried dating others, but there was no one that could compare to her Naruto-kun. So, Hanabi glanced over at Hinata trying to judge the reaction on her face to see if she needed to step in at any time. But to her surprise, what she saw was not despair or sadness but happiness. Her sister was genuinely happy to see that Naruto was alright.

"Happy to see you again, Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a large smile on her face.

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan…" Naruto replied matching her smile.

"Papa, papa."

"What is it Umi-chan?"

"He was mean to Umihime." She pointed toward Konohamaru who was hiding this whole time hoping that she wouldn't do what she just did.

"Oh, really?" He grinned darkly, his unofficial younger brother began sweating bullets.

Quicker than they all could blink, Naruto was behind them with his free hand on top of Konohamaru's head. He then balled his hand into a fist and acted like he was going to punch him in the head before switching up into a painful nudgie.

"Oww!!"

"Next time you mess with my Umi-chan, I'll kill you." Naruto said a sadistic smile on his face causing Konohamaru to fear for his life. Naruto then looked up at Umihime and smiled genuinely.

"Where's mama?"

"Up there." Umihime pointed to the top of a building where Yugito was glaring at one of the Kunoichi near the Father-Daughter pair. Naruto sighed out loud because he knew exactly what that meant. "Umihime thinks mama is mad."

"Yeah, me too."

Yugito leaped down and slowly walked up to them with a look that could kill. She was wearing a similar attire to Naruto.

"When are we leaving?" Yugito asked not looking at Naruto even once. Her eyes were dead set on Hinata wanting her to do something.

"Soon… there are still some people I need to see before we go."

"Umihime don't wanna leave yet, mama."

"Well, I do Umi-chan…" Yugito said before Naruto wrapped his free arm around Yugito.

"Come on… don't be that way, Yu-chan…" Naruto gave Yugito such a puppy dog look, it almost made her give in. That was until Umihime joined in matching her father's look. Yugito couldn't help, but to give in as a large smile made its way across her face.

"Fine... Fine… You guys are going to pay for using that on me again." She said as she turned her back to them. Naruto and Umihime both laughed.

"Where are guys heading first?" Hinata asked, completely oblivious to the older blonde's intentions.

"To see an old sensei of mine."

"I'm sure he'll be happy to see you." Yugito glared at Hinata as the three of them left heading towards the Hokage tower.

"Umihime really likes them."

**V**

The current Kage of both Konoha and Suna were in the middle of a very serious meeting. War at any moment could break out and the Chuunin exam could be used as an opening for Kumo and Iwa to attack, just like Orochimaru did over seven years ago. Suna was also in a tight spot thanks to their shinobi count being at an all-time low. Despite the amount of effort both villages had put forth on rebuilding, both were still in a very weakened position. Unlike before, where the Yondaime turned the tide of the war single-handedly, there was no one on their side who could do this again. Even if the Kazekage was known for his power, his power alone wasn't on par with the Yondaime of the past nor was it enough to match the rumoured powerhouses of Iwa and Kumo combined. Kakashi was almost at a point where he would cancel the exams due to these disadvantages. Even if it showed a major sign of weakness, Kakashi felt that this would grant both villages enough time to strengthen their defences. Things were looking grim indeed for Konoha and Kumo.

"What of Akatsuki's movement?"

"Ever since the disappearance of Naruto-san and the Jinchuuriki from Kumo, all information on them has been completely silent. It seems that they have moved their plans toward something else, something just as deadly as the bijuu, we still have nothing on what it is, though." the Kazekage said.

"Something else?" Kakashi asked.

"Apparently there is a rumor of some ancient artifacts that hold enough power to equal the bijuu at maximum capability. And there may be one around this village and the Genin that are coming here for the Genin exams may be them in disguise coming after the one hidden here."

"How long has this been known?"

"Long enough for you guys to only learn about it now." Naruto said as he appeared in the Hokage office, surprising both leaders out of their skin at the sudden interruption.

"Naruto?" Kakashi said as he stood up.

"Long time no see, Kakashi-sensei."

"You still call me sensei after all of these years?"

"Force of habit." Naruto stated with his patented smirk on his face.

"It has been a while, Naruto-san." The Kazekage said as he stood up and walked toward Naruto.

"Gaara? When do you become the…"

"A while ago. How have you been?" He inquired, a ghost of a smile over his features.

"Well… I'm married with a daughter now." Both Gaara and Kakashi burst in a fit of laughter until Yugito and Umihime walked in, effectively shutting them up. "Uh… This is my family." He informed them, lazily extending his hand in the direction of both females. The two Kage stopped and stared at them for a second making sure this wasn't a trick.

"You're serious?" Kakashi asked gaping at the trio. Naruto only nodded. "Congratulations." Kakashi managed to compose himself enough to say that before taking a seat to try getting a better grasp the situation. He never imagined that Naruto would ever mature enough to have a family.

"Why have you chosen now to show yourself since you and Yugito-san are on the bingo books of both Konoha, Iwa, and Kumo?" Gaara asked suddenly, a stern look marred his face. Clearly he had mulled over the chance of the two eloping.

"H-H-how do you know my name?" Yugito replied, clearly not expecting him to know her.

"Trust me Yugito-san, I know more about you than you would like to know, though the fact that you were a mother is all news to me." Gaara said as Yugito glared at him. Right about now she was finding it hard to trust the Kazekage. Despite Naruto's idea, she didn't really want to come into the village. She knew that things would be too dangerous if they were forced to fight while protecting Umihime at the same time. Naruto's only argument in regards to her feelings was that he knew some people he could trust Umihime's life to if something did happen.

"We're only here to visit and then we will be leaving once again."

"But papa…"

"Umi-chan…" He said in a finalizing tone. The little girl resigned at that.

"By the way, what were you two talking about before I rudely interrupted?" Both Kage gave him a questioning look as Naruto smirked. They both instantly knew that he knew the contents of their conversion and began to wonder how long he were actually there before he said something.

"How much do you know about the artifacts Naruto? Jiraiya already told me that you have two in your possession and there is reason to believe that your wife has one as well." Kakashi said in a serious tone. Naruto smirk grew wider in a dangerous way as he stared at him.

"It all depends on how much you know about them yourself. The subject is very sensitive to my ears after all."

"So what you are saying is that we have to tell you what we know before you tell us?" Gaara summarized with a cold expression on his face. Instantly the vibe in the room switched from a warm feeling to a very tense one. So tense that even Umihime could feel it as she hid behind her mother for protection.

"Why are you _really _here, Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he stood up.

"Calm down gentlemen, we do have my daughter here as well. Plus, you should _really _think about your own situation here. Right now, you don't know if I could be your ally or an _enemy_. It is not wise to make that decision for me in your position." The look on Naruto's face was enough to let them know that he was more than serious.

"You really have changed a lot, Naruto." The blond just chuckled a little in response.

"Having a kid does that to you, maybe you should stop reading that pervert book series of your and have a family as well. Well then, we should be departing now since I still have to meet another very important blonde who I know wants to kill me." Yugito picked Umihime as she walked out of the door. Naruto started to walk out as well but paused for a second. "Oh, almost forgot, if you hear anything about an artifact near by, it would be a very wise decision to ignore it. You never know what type of trouble you could get yourself in." Naruto said with a grin on his face before closing the door. The two were silent for a second before glancing at each other.

"Think it's wise to let him roam freely like this?" Gaara asked.

"I don't think so, but these artifacts may be even more important than we original thought they were if he was willing to bare his fangs at us."

"This might become a pain in the ass if we don't play a hand as well. I will have someone watch him." Gaara said looking hard at the closed door Naruto and his family had just used.

"Very well then, just as long as it doesn't put anyone from Konoha in danger in the process. I never knew Naruto to bluff which means he could be stronger than us for all we know."

"But a true shinobi never shows his cards up front. He could have learned how to be an excellent card player over the years." Gaara finalized.

Meanwhile, the Uzumaki family was making their way to the edge of Konoha where a lot of the wealthier families lived, including the Hyuuga compound. Umihime was fast asleep in her mother's arms, tired from the excitement of the day. Earlier that day, Naruto had learned the location of Tsunade's new house from Sakura and was kind of dreading their visit. He was sure the woman who was like a mother to him would literally kill him. Besides a moody Yugito on her period, she was the only person he feared.

"Why did you threaten them like that?" Yugito asked breaking the silence.

"Didn't really threaten them, I just sort of let them know politely that this case wasn't something they should be sticking there nose in."

"You think Yamainu will make a move during the exams?"

"If not him, _they_ will for sure."

"I still get an uneasy feeling when I think about _them_."

"I understand but this is something we will have to deal with sooner or later, unless Konoha can stop them and I doubt Konoha has it to do this thanks to the cold war right now."

"I suppose…"

As they passed by the Hyuuga compound, Naruto and Yugito sensed someone watching them and he secretly created a kage bushin without causing his chakra to spike even a little. Only Yugito noticed it as she glanced over at Naruto.

"Who do you think it is?"

"Probably a Hyuuga just making sure we don't evade the compound, everyone does seem to be on edge here. I don't blame them though."

"Then why did you do that?"

"You're not the only one who doesn't trust the village you know? I am pretty sure the council knows about our arrival already."

"No… I'm asking why did you do that just _now_…"

"Oh… I guess it just escaped my mind." Naruto said as he smiled and scratched the back of his head. Yugito only frowned as she bopped him on the top of his head.

The three of them made it to Tsunade's house shortly after that and knocked on the door. Instead of seeing a maid or Shizune opening the door, he saw Tsunade herself open the door and crossed her arms with a glare firmly fixed on the male fair-haired. Sakura and Shizune stood behind her with huge smiles on their faces, though Shizune's had a tinge of anger in her eyes, mainly from the main reasons her master had.

"Uh… How's it going b-b-baa-chan…" Naruto said in a nervous tone, raising a weary shaking hand as a salute. Tsunade balled her hand into a fist as he glared even harder as she suddenly charged toward Naruto. He was so terrified, he froze up while Yugito wisely moved out of the way. Instead of the beat up of a lifetime, he got a very firm embrace as his shoulder became very dampened with her tears.

"Gomen-nasai baa-chan…" Naruto said as he hugged her back. She rose up with a smile on her face as he wiped away her tears. She suddenly landed the hardest punch he had ever felt in his entire existence, sending him several meters into the air. Unlike earlier, the blow was so hard that his body did not respond as quickly, which resulted in him landing flat on his head.

"Baka!" For a second even Yugito was afraid and Umihime woke up from the loud sound that Naruto made as he collided with the ground.

Analysing the current situation, she spoke. "Is papa ok?"

"He w-w-will be… maybe…" She spoke shooting a scared look at the Sannin, her mind seriously considering the idea of running for it.

"That was for leaving me without a proper goodbye or reason! Now, come in so I can heal you and we can catch up on the last five years of your life." Tsunade said as she walked back into the house leaving everybody watching literally speechless at her mood swings.


	4. 4th Sight: Why

Vanished Without a Trace

**Author's Notes: I'm back. Sorry for the long hiatus, as I said in my other story **_**Immanence, **_**I have been pretty busy as of lately but I am hopping to get back to a stable update period like I had before. I'm pushing for once every two to three weeks but I can't make any promises. As usual, thanks for the reviews and reading my stories and hope you enjoy this latest chapter.**

**  
Vanished Without a Trace**  
4th Sight: Why?

The atmosphere in the room was unbelievably thick and tense. It almost felt like a conference meeting between two rival government leaders as they tried to settle their obvious differences. Umihime seemed to be the only one oblivious to what was going on as she enjoyed a nice nap in her father's lap. Yugito was trying her hardest not to get up and leave as Naruto was literally sweating bullets. Even Sakura and Shizune were on edge and they were the ones who had spent the most time with the woman.

"So?" The buxom blonde asked impatiently.

"_So…?_" Naruto asked trying to understand what she was asking.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes in the distinct way that caused Naruto to instantly remember all the painful beatings he had received from her in the past.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Tsunade yelled as her honey pupils were replaced with flames, making Naruto to feel awfully sick.

"He decided that this was the best thing to do since not many people here appreciated how great he was." Yugito answered for him, leaving Naruto feeling even sicker. He was more than grateful to the fact that Umihime was asleep right now and not awake to witness the person she considered the strongest in the _universe_ squirm like a little worm.

"I didn't ask you." Tsunade shot Yugito a look that sent everyone in the room chills up and down their spine. Everyone except Yugito and Umihime for obvious reasons, of course.

"You didn't need to, since he is my husband I hold the right to answer any question that I have a part in." Yugito was obviously not going to back down an inch, which all three of the other adults thought this was an amazing feat, or an act of ignorance.

"I see you kind of have a point there, but that answer isn't acceptable. Not to mention the fact that I still haven't approved of this _marriage _of yours. Naruto is now an nuke-nin and has a high bounty in the bingo book, yet this is the only excuse you can give me for this reason?" Now everyone was surprised that she was being _somewhat_ agreeable in this situation. Naruto began to realize just how similar those two were. Well, he always had a thing for overbearing and strong women…

"I just needed to get away from everything." Naruto said finally speaking up for himself.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked as she was under the impression the whole time that he had been forced/conned/coerced to abandon the village by the Kumo kunoichi despite what she was told. The Naruto she knew wouldn't break his nindo regardless of the situation or the circumstances.

"I came to the realization that I wasn't living my life for myself. Everything, including my goal of becoming the Hokage, was based on appeasing others and proving them wrong. Even my quest to bring Sasuke back was not my own feelings but Sakura's. I honestly felt that she would look at me in a different light if I were to bring Sasuke back for her." Sakura was kind of caught off guard by his answer but was too speechless to say what she wanted to say. "Travelling and training with ero-sennin taught me a valuable lesson in life that I will never forget. My life is my own life to live and I shouldn't live it for others just to make them happy ignoring my own feelings. I made several friends over those years and almost lost them all."

"So you decided to run away from it all then?" Tsunade asked in a loud, stern voice. The sheer volume in her voice woke Umihime up from her sleep, which in the process woke up Naruto's hidden courage to face the ex-Hokage, like he used to do in the past when he was the annoying loud mouthed gaki. Of course, he couldn't look weak in from of his Umi-chan.

"No, I didn't run away. I just chose another path to take." Naruto said as he stared at his surrogate mother straight in her eyes, not showing any sign of backing down. Both Shizune and Tsunade caught on to source of his sudden outburst of courage and smiled to themselves.

"Then why didn't you visit us? You could have at least told us of your daughter's birth." Shizune asked finally speaking.

"The time wasn't right. I now have a new situation that I am mixed in that is twice as dangerous as the threat of the Akatsuki or having a bounty on my head in the bingo book. We needed to make sure that Umihime was old enough to travel before we returned to this village, not to mention it is now time for the Chuunin exams."

"What does the Chuunin exam have anything to do with this?" Tsunade asked.

"What better time to sneak in the village than when the village is at its all time busiest." He answered with a toothy grin on his face that reminded them of his younger self.

"You're lying…" Tsunade once again narrowed her eyes at Naruto.

"Well… not completely. There might be someone here very dangerous searching for something in this village. This person is more than an enemy to Yugito-chan and me and may be more of a threat than Orochimaru. We plan on stopping him right here before he gets any stronger."

"Who is this person? We should let Kakashi know right away if he truly is a threat to the village."

"This is something that only we can take care of." Yugito said.

"Which brings us to the second reason why we are here. We need a huge favour of the two of you."

"And that is?"

"We wished for you to watch over Umi-chan while we are in the village. We don't know how dangerous things will get while he is here and we need the reassurance that she will be OK no matter what."

"But Umihime can fight too!" Umihime glared up at her dad.

"Yeah… but it's still to early for you, Umi-chan."

"But Umihime…"

"Umihime…" Yugito said in a very firm tone that meant business, causing her to make an 'emp' sound before burring her face into her father's cloak.

"You didn't have to be so firm with her."

"You just spoil her to much." Naruto sighed out loud as he returned his attention to the ex-Hokage.

Tsunade leaned back in her seat and pulled out a bottle of sake she was hiding under it. Shizune glared at her but let it go due to the situation.

"On one condition, you have to tell me what is going on. What are you so involved in that is more dangerous than Akatsuki or Orochimaru could be?"

Naruto sighed out loud as he leaned back against the couch before he looked over at Yugito. It seemed the two of them were communicating with their eyes before Yugito leaned forward and start speaking.

"To start things off, Naruto isn't the only one who was born with a grave burden." She paused for a second allowing the news to sink in. "There are artefacts in this world that are said to be as old as time and they only seemed to react to the youkai of a bijuu. Just one of these artefacts holds enough power to wipe out a village of twice the size of this one, if placed in the wrong hands. Naruto has two and I have one right now but there is no telling how many of them are out there. There is a rumour that one of these artefacts is somewhere in this village and our enemy just happened to be a jinchuuriki like us, one of the stronger ones, and he has a lot of political influence, which makes it hard to get close to him. So, we have reason to believe that he will make an appearance here as well."

"How did you get a hold of something so dangerous, Naruto?" Tsunade asked.

"One of them was a gift from my father."

"Father? Did you find your parents?" both Tsunade and Shizune look at Sakura for a second forgetting that she didn't know anything about Naruto's parents thanks to the Sandaime's law.

"Not really since they both died on the day I was born. Jiraiya knew my father and gave it to me when he felt I was mature enough to handle it, of course this was before we knew what it actually was." Naruto decided to just leave it at that since he didn't feel like talking too much about his late parents. Tsunade sensed this and quickly changed the subject.

"So why are you taking _this _responsibility on your shoulders?"

"Because we both know how strong he is now and if we allowed others to take care of this and fail, it would be to late for us to do anything about it."

"Plus the annoying fact that he knows we have three in our possession, so it would only be a matter of time before he came after us anyway, since he wants them all."

The room was silent for a moment until Umihime yawned out loud snapping everyone out of their serious trance.

"Ok then, we will take care of your daughter while you two deal with things, but you will have to visit us every now and then after you leave the village despite who is trying to kill you, or I will hunt you and kill you personally." Tsunade threatened with a smirk on her face, to which Naruto swallowed hard.

**II**

That night, the sky was clear, giving anyone who was interested a lucid view of the stars. A cool gentle breeze blew as the blades of grass began to dance , transforming the plain into an ocean of green.

Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps were heard followed by several more. The first set of footsteps stopped right in the centre of the field, as their owner turned around and watched as more men appeared behind him with all sort of weapons in their possession.

"Are sure you want to do this?" The owner of the original footsteps asked as he placed his left hand on top of the hilt of his katana, which was resting in its sheath.

"We will never forgive you for what you did to our lord."

"Even if it means that your lives with be forfeit in the process?" The man glared at his pursuers with such intensity that his eyes became visible even under the dark veil of the night that covered the field. Another breeze blew past them as everyone became silent. As soon as the wind stopped blowing, a batch of clouds flew in front of the moon shrouding the field in complete darkness as three of the ten men dashed toward him.

He slightly stepped forward easily dodging the first attack and landed a powerful blow to the second man's chest causing him to land on his back. In the same motion, he sent a sidekick to the third attacker lifting him off the ground with the brute force of the kick.

Quicker than the first man could even breathe, he slashed through his neck with his katana as he quickly placed it back in the sheath. Blood began to float along with the wind as the nine remaining men looked on in horror. None of them even saw or heard him draw his katana, but they all heard him resheath it. Just as quickly as the clouds came in, they dispersed, allowing the light of the moon to shine brightly on the scene. One of the men now laid sprawl out as his blood continued to leak out like a broken faucet.

"Now, do you really wish to continue this pointless fight?" It was obvious that he merely allowed them to hear him sheath his katana, to show them just who they were fighting. The same thought went through every one of their minds as they braced themselves for anything. He was clearly on a completely different planet when it came to ability. But they couldn't let that stop them, this man had just killed their lord and was announcing himself as the new lord of the land. There was no way in hell they were going to allow this to happen, even if the people didn't know of their bravery and quest for justice.

The other two men dusted themselves off and pulled out a katana of their own. An annoyed expression grew on his face as he closed his eyes. In an instant, the once clear and beautiful night sky was covered in clouds once again as the sky began to bellow with thunder, as if it were angry.

He forcefully opened his eyes, causing all of them to be frozen in their spot as they all were sliced in several different places under a few seconds. The clouds began to burst as it started to pour down on him as the rain showered away all the excess blood that was covering his body.

"How pointless… so you enjoy watching your men kill themselves?"

"Who said those were my men? They were just pawns that helped me achieve a much greater purpose. I was just going to let this go but your abilities have sparked an interest in me. Not to mention that katana you wield… that wouldn't happen to be Kusanagi, now wouldn't it?"

"And?"

"I never would have fathomed the idea of finding an artefact this far out. Maybe it was a good thing that I helped that old bastard keep this land alive for so long after all."

Another cloud covered the moon cutting off all light sources. Lightning suddenly struck revealing the stranger standing right in front of him with a smirk on his face.

"You are a strange one, huh? You are not even a jinchuuriki yet it seems you can wield this artefact. But how much of that was you and how much of that was the katana?"

He gently rested his hand on his hilt like before causing the stranger's grin to grow even wider.

"Guess I will have to find out up close and personal, eh?" As soon as the cloud that was covering the moon was gone, the stranger disappeared. He quickly drew his katana just in time to deflect the attack of a metal staff type of weapon. But the source of the weapon wasn't anywhere to be found. He quickly swiped his katana to the left, deflecting the second attack that appeared out of nowhere. "Very good!"

Suddenly, the stranger leaped up from the ground and almost landed a high kick to his chin but at the last minute, he leaned backwards, allowing the tip of the stranger's foot to only graze it. The impact was still enough to launch him into the air, where the stranger landed a powerful attack with his staff right in his abdomen, causing him to spit out blood as he landed on his back. But he quickly hopped back on his feet, ready to counter as his katana collided with the man's metal staff.

The stranger used his own attack against his opponent as he thrust forward landing another hit against his chest pushing him backwards. The man then slammed the staff against the ground created a shock wave to stream toward him. His dark almond pupils shifted to a crimson red as three tome formed in the corner of his eyes at the same instant he swung his katana at the ground, sending a violent amount of chakra into it, negating the man's attack.

"Hmmm… interesting. I see that you can use the Kusanagi properly and I also never imagined that I would get to face off one of your kind since you all died out several years ago. About time you get serious, Uchiha!"

As lightning struck the sky, the man launched the staff at him but he quickly knocked the staff to the side with his katana. What he wasn't expecting was a second staff to collide with chest again as he slid backwards. That was when he saw for the first time that a chakra chain connected both staffs to one another.

"So you finally saw it, huh? Guess those eyes are as deadly as the rumors say, eh? Let's see just how this artefact can fair up against that Kusanagi of yours."

The stranger pulled back on the chain causing both parts of the staff to fly back to him as they connected with one another, joining in their complete form. The Uchiha took this time to get even closer by using his immense speed. The stranger was caught off guard a little bit by just how fast he was, but it still wasn't enough as a giant wall of wind burst between them, sending the Uchiha flying backwards once again.

The stranger leaped over the wall and slammed the tip of his staff in the ground, just barely missing the Uchiha, thanks to a quick roll on his part. But that what was the stranger was expecting.

Suddenly, the Uchiha felt a large amount of chakra pulsate from the staff as the ground around it was set on fire. The stranger leaped down on the ground and swung the staff sideways, creating a massive amount of wind that sent the flames running in all directions, scorching everything they touched.

The Uchiha was forced to quickly back-pedal to avoid the flames, but he also back-pedalled right into the stranger's trap, as he ran right into a tunnel of wind that began to rip his entire body. That is… if it was the real him. At the last second, his body puffed in a cloud of dark smoke causing the stranger to chuckle.

As the fires continued to run rampant through the fields, the stranger just stood there like a statue as his bleach white cloak flapped wildly in the wind. He suddenly thrust his staff forward, catching the Uchiha right before he attacked and followed up by separating his staff again and grabbing the left part and slamming it hard against the Uchiha's face, sending him crashing to the ground.

"I have to say… I am kind of disappointed in your capability and I was hoping that I could use you in the future, but you turn out to be just another pawn…"

"Who said I would work for you anyway? Also, who said I was even here?"

"Huh?"

The Uchiha's body began to dissolve into a pit of snakes as they began to leap at the stranger. He sent several blades of wind shredding right through the snakes even before they got close.

"So you _were_ holding back?" He combined his staff again and turned his back to the fire as he began to slowly but calmly walk off. "We should continue this some time when we both aren't holding back. It would be wise for you to come to Konohagakure if you value your life. After I succeed there I will return here to kill you and take Kusanagi unless you provide some _unneeded_ interference." He slung a kunai to a nearby tree before the stranger's body began to dissolve into tiny particles. Those transformed into a grey wolf as it began to run off in the direction of the village.

The Uchiha reached up, grabbed the kunai that missed his skull only by a few inches, and glared at it with his crimson orbs.

"Who the hell was that?"

"Can you follow his chakra, Karin?"

"Vaguely… he's quite skilled at hiding his chakra. Even I'm getting confused on rather that is real chakra trail of not. Throughout your entire fight with him, his chakra kept changing in a very abnormal way." She paused for a second as she watched him stared out in the distance.

"Konoha again, huh?" He said as his eyes returned too normal.

"More importantly, are you alright Sasuke-kun?"

"Yeah I am, I was just caught a little off guard. Do you know what he was talking about when he mentioned artefacts?"

"Not exactly… there has a been a strange rumour about powerful weapons resurfacing from the past though. Why?" Sasuke looked down at his katana that he had inherited from the late Orochimaru before returning it to its sheath.

"Where are Juugo and Suigetsu right now?"

"They are both back in town, waiting for us to return."

"Ok. Get some rest tonight."

"Why…? What's wrong?"

"We are leaving earlier in the morning."

"Where to?"

"Konoha, of course."

**III**

The summer sun blazed over the Chuunin hopefuls as over twenty-five teams of Genin stood in front of the gates of the Forest of Death. Even though this was probably the most dangerous part of the exam, most of them were more worried about dying from the heat or the jounin instructor who was in charge of this event.

It seemed that Anko's favorite dango shop had been shut down temporarily due to some foreign Genin vandalizing the place last night. The shop owner didn't know who exactly did it, but he did know that they were wearing a foreign hiate-ate. It took Kakashi everything he had to keep Anko from going on a killing spree on all of the Genin in the village.

"Listen up chibi! If you were hoping that this test would be as easy as the last one, then I'll kill you myself!" The amount of killer intent she was releasing left more than the majority of then frozen in their tracks. "You have exactly three days and nights to collect the other scroll with the one in your possession and arrive at the tower in the middle of the forest. It is against the rules to open any of the scrolls before reaching the tower. Who disobey will be forced to undergo excruciating consequences."

She forced Kakashi to cave in to her idea when it came to the punishment for breaking the rules during the test, which were to allow her to do whatever she wanted besides kill them. It was obvious to everyone that she was out for blood.

"I see Anko-sensei is a little bit crazier than normal. Don't you think?" A Konoha Genin wearing all blue with his hiate-ate tired around her shoulder and a blue rag tied to the other arm in the same spot.

"Really? It is hard for me to tell half the time, Aoi-chan…" Her teammate, who was draped in the standard shinobi attire except for the four kunai that were hanging off the side of his hiate-ate that he wore around his head, said as he glared up at the sky wishing he wasn't there. Not because he was scared, but because he just didn't feel like doing anything.

"Ryuu sort of has a point there. I've been afraid of Anko-sensei since she began to help out Ino-sensei with our training." A timid kunoichi, who was wearing a dark red shinobi skirt with black biker shorts underneath and a dark red sleeves jacket with her hiate-ate on head, said as she walked up to Aoi.

"You're just imagining things Suzuka. Anko-sensei is really cool and I can tell that something is wrong with her right now." Both of Aoi's teammates gave her a strange look. "What?"

"You mean besides how she normally is?"

During this time, Naruto and Yugito were hiding in the forest close to the entrance, watching for something that felt out of place, which was hard to do thanks to all the weirdoes that were from the other villages.

"I see Anko hasn't changed any…"

"Anko?"

"The jounin instructor who is currently threatening the Genin."

"Oh… that aura she's giving off right now is even giving _me_ the chills."

"Yeah, she does that to people."

"Heh…"

Suddenly there was a loud shout before all the gates were opened, allowing the Genin to dash into the forest, oblivious to what lied in wait for them in there.


	5. 5th Sight: The Genin

**Author's Notes: What it do? I'm finally back again and this time with a little help lol. I like to give a shout out to SoulCry has became my new beta reader for this story and Immanence. Thanks again! Hope you guys enjoy this update and look forward to your reviews.**

**Vanished Without a Trace**  
5th Sight: The Genin

An ominous breeze blew through the great ocean of giant trees. The trees were so thick and high it made it nearly impossible to tell whether it was day or night. There was no telling how many teams had been taken out already, but it was very obvious how dangerous this forest was, judging by the very powerful killer intent that was surging throughout the forest. It still was a surprise to many that Konohagakure would hold a chuunin exam taking place in this forest again. Now, over twenty teams of genin were fighting for their futures and possibly their lives.

"I cant believe how much this place used to give me the chills." Naruto said as he placed his hand against one of the trees. "Now this all feels like a walk in a park – sort of."

Both Naruto and Yugito were deep in the forest searching for any trace of the artifact that was rumored to be in Konoha. They had decided that this would be the key place judging from the amount of history this forest held. Legend had it that this place served as the shrine for the Nibi no Nekomata and the Shinigami. Not to mention the fact that all three of the artifacts that they already owned were pulsating enough to vibrate against their bodies when they moved.

"Did you say anything?" Yugito asked as she continued to stare up at the forest ceiling.

"What are you looking at? You've been staring up for the longest."

"I'm just wondering when those damn genin that have been trailing us are going to make their first move."

"Leave them alone. I don't feel like explaining to obaa-chan why genin blood was spilled. Plus if they are truly chuunin hopefuls, they would know that we are an enemy that can't be defeated by anyone their level." He stated, not bluffing in the least. "If the legends are true, then the forest bed may be flooded with the crimson liquid." Naruto sighed out loud as he leaned up against a near by tree.

"Lets hope that doesn't happen, ne?" Looking down from the looming branches and leaves, she gave the distance a contemplating look with a soft smile. "I wonder how strong some of these genin are." She mused.

"Not strong enough to take you on." Naruto said right before he took out a canteen and took a sip.

"It would serve as the perfect test for the future, don't you think?"

"… You're acting weird… You're usually the one holding me back from going wild." Naruto walked up to her and gently grabbed her shoulder. As she looked up at him, he nearly jumped backwards. Both of her pupils were slits and her canines were long – he could already imagine that her claws were out too. It was almost as if the bijuu within her was taking over. "What is happening to you?"

"I don't know… It's just… suddenly my primal instincts been going wild ever since I stepped foot in this forest." She suddenly gripped Naruto's wrist tightly as her claws began to dig into his skin, drawing blood. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably as tears began to flow down her pale cheeks. Naruto placed his free arm around her and pulled her closer to him. He gently kissed her forehead and slightly began rubbing her forehead.

"It'll be ok. I'm here for you." He noticed that her body began to settle down a little bit as her human traits started to resurface.

"**NOW!!**" A sudden shout caused Naruto swore under his breath as he turned to see three genin leaping out of the trees with kunai aimed at them.

"NOW is not a good time for this! READ THE ATMOSPHERE!" Naruto yelled right before Yugito broke free from his grip and allowed her chakra to rise out of control. The look on the genin faces went pale as they realize that they had literally stepped right into the lion's den unknowingly.

Yugito's chakra was so hot that the dirt below her feet began to scorch in flames, her eyes reshaping to her Bijuu's as she crouched down in a stance ready to pounce on her prey.

"Shit!" Naruto yelled as he leaped in front of her. "Run now!" He yelled at the genin behind him, but they were literally frozen stiff from the immense amount of killer intent Yugito was emitting in waves. "Yugito calm down now…"

Instead of the response he was hoping for, she leaped at him in blazing speeds that almost caught him off guard. He slightly titled backwards enough to allow her momentum to carry her above him before he grabbed her waist and slammed her to the ground on her back. He instantly rolled over on top of her and began to pin her down. It was taking all of his strength just to restrain her as she struggled violently to get free.

"What the hell has gotten in you!" Naruto looked back up at the genin and noticed that they were wearing Konoha hiate-ate and thought that this was just getting worse by the second.

"I told you three to run, damn it!" Yugito suddenly summoned enough strength to push her and Naruto off the ground. In the moment when they both reached their zenith, she pushed both her legs into the air, landing a heavy blow to Naruto's abdomen and knocking the breath out of him. She instantly followed up with a backhand, sending him crashing to the ground. She then flipped over just in time to land on her feet.

"Ugh… you were the last person I wanted to fight ever…" Naruto said as he grabbed his stomach. He felt a very cold breeze as he noticed ice form around Yugito's legs. He instantly looked over at the genin and noticed the girl in all blue was holding in hands in the tora seal channeling more and more chakra into the jutsu. "Don't agitate her anymore and run! Next time she may actually kill you!"

"Learn to control your woman!" the other genin yelled as he pulled a kunai off his hiate-ate and slung it at Yugito. Naruto instantly appeared in front of him and instantly batted way the kunai causing it to explode right in his hands. "Hah! You fell for it!"

"Fell for what?" The genin looked up as the dust cleared revealing an unharmed Naruto with a very cold look on his face.

"What the hell are you two?!" The genin demanded as he fell down in shock.

"Way out of your league, that's what."

Suddenly there was another explosion coming from behind Naruto. As he turned around he noticed that Yugito had finally freed herself and was now wielding her scythe with a very menacing mask on her face.

"And here I was hoping _Kassatsu_ wouldn't make an appearance." Naruto grunted as he reached behind his back and grabbed _Kamikaze_ and used it to deflect her attack as the ground behind her instantly began to wilt and die while a massive squall formed behind Naruto and sent the genin flying backwards. Naruto took this chance to quickly draw _Kagokasai _and slash a power wave of flames at her feet causing her to jump in the air to dodge, leaving her open for Naruto's next attack. He quickly sheathed _Kamikaze_ and struck her neck in one her vital points knocking her unconscious in one big motion. Her body fell limp as she started to decline before Naruto caught up in his arms.

"You know, you can be really troublesome sometimes…" Naruto grunted as he gently laid her down on the ground and sheathed _Kagokasai. _

"You guys aren't genin are you?" The first genin in all blue asked as she was the first to appear with the other two quickly following after her.

"You guys picked the wrong prey to attack at the worst possible time. Read your opponent more before you decide to attack. Oh, and never sound your attack – even an unskilled shinobi can defend himself if he hears his enemies coming." Naruto glared at the genin before returning to tend to his wife.

"If you're not a genin then what the hell are you doing in the forest? Are you the judges?" The male genin asked as he rubbed the bump on his head he gained from hitting a tree thanks to the gust from Naruto and Yugito's attack.

"Not obligated to answer any of your questions right now. Now hurry up and move on before things gets even more dangerous."

"What do you mean?" The other female finally spoke as she hid behind the blue genin, who seemed to be the _leader_ of their group. Naruto only sighed louder.

"Help me get her on my back and I will answer that question."

"You won't try to attack us will you?" The blue genin asked. Naruto only chuckled.

"If I wanted to, you all would've been dead when you guys decided to follow us over six hours ago."

"You knew?"

"It was obvious and _chuunin_ would've been able to realize they were being followed with the way you all were moving. Though I do have to applaud your ability for sensing chakra since no one was able to read us but you guys. We are skilled enough to completely mask our chakra trace and smell, making us nearly untraceable."

"That is thanks to Suzuka's special ability – she can read the life forces of her surroundings."

"I see… but she can't gauge how strong her opponent are yet?"

"Yeah…" Without thinking about it any further, she helped Naruto get Yugito on his back. He made sure she was stable before standing back up. "So what did you mean by things could get more dangerous?" she asked.

"There are more things in this forest besides you genin – some being our enemies who are on par with us if not stronger and that shock wave of chakra that was sent out was like a flare to our whereabouts."

"What is going on?"

"That I can't tell you because this has nothing to do with Konoha right now. But –" he handed her a tiny scroll "—if you cross someone just as strong as us and you are more than positive that it is not another genin, then open this scroll. But only open this if you are two hundred percent sure that it isn't a genin. It will not help you in this exam and it's a one time only use." She looked over the scroll several times before looking back at him.

"What is it?"

"A secret."

"Shouldn't Hokage-sama be told about this?" the boy asked.

"He already knows, him and me had a conversation about things and I told him to stay out of it."

"Who are you again?"

"The only thing I will say is that I used be your Hokage-sama's _best­ _student, Uzumaki Naruto." He said with a very toothy grin on his face before disappearing.

**II**

"What the hell was that all about?" Ryuu asked as he dusted himself off. Suzuka only gave him a blank look as she continued to stay glued to Aoi's back.

"Now I have to find out who he is…" Aoi said as she placed the tiny scroll in her dark blue pouch that was strapped to her left thigh.

"Don't tell me you believed that guy? He wasn't with a Konoha hiate-ate, so what makes you think that he was one of us?"

"Didn't you hear the story about Hokage-sama's only team?"

"No… not really. I chose to listen only when needed and I decided that all that nonsense was just nonsense." Ryuu said in a proud tone as if it was a honorable deal, causing Aoi to sigh out loud.

"Baka…"

"I resent that!"

"Don't yell, baka…"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Yell again and I'll freeze your tongue and cut it off, got it?" She walked up to him with her fist balled tighter and flames literally blazing inside of her pupils. Ryuu started to say something but decided it would be wise to hold his tongue or he might actually lose it. He learned the hard way that Aoi wasn't a kunoichi that you would piss off and get away with it. She was already considered the strongest of the genin of their year.

"I remember the stories…" Suzuka said breaking the glaring contest that the other two were having. "Haruno-san was also a member of that team. They were supposed to potentially be the strongest three cell team in Konoha history."

"Supposed?" Ryuu asked causing Aoi to give him an exhausted look.

"Yes, the other two abandoned the village for unknown reasons."

"See. That means he's a nuke-nin. We shouldn't trust him."

"No. I think we can't kill him, otherwise, why would he save us from that kunoichi?"

"I don't know, maybe to keep Konoha from finding out he is here? I don't trust the guy and I don't think you should either."

"This is the Forest of Death you baka, if we were to die, then it would just be blamed on the exam. Plus, he could wipe us out easily without leaving a trace. It wouldn't be for days before they discover that we are either dead or missing. Enough time to allow him to escape the village."

Suzuka tightened her griped on Aoi's sleeve as she slightly began to tremble.

"Don't worry, Suzuka. I know he's not that type person."

"How? That was the first time you ever saw him, ours too."

"I'm expert when it comes to reading people. I knew you were a baka from day one and we all know I was right about that." Ryuu just growled under his breath as he motioned to walk ahead of them. Suzuka giggled lightly at her teammates' usual taunting. Despite the situations they were in, those two always managed to make things lighter than normal.

Unfortunately – or fortunately – for them, that incident with Naruto and Yugito would be the only excitement they would receive for the day as nightfall quickly set in quicker than any of them wanted – for different reason, though. Aoi was anxious to get their second scroll so they could get to the next part. She had many honorable traits that made her an excellent shinobi, but the thing she lacked the most was patience. Ryuu just wanted to finally prove that he would be the dominant one of the team despite what Aoi thought. He couldn't wait to outdo her in the exams so he could rub it in her face. Suzuka on the other hand just wanted to go home. She hated how much the forest scared her and the only reason why she was in the exams was because of Aoi.

Aoi and her had been childhood friends since birth almost. Aoi had always acted like her big sister and protected her from bullies and wild dogs – Ryuu used to be one of those bullies – for as long as she could remember. The last thing she wanted was to let her down of all people.

"We're going to set up camp here." Aoi announced as she took a seat on a stump and began to rub her legs. Suzuka quickly sat down beside her. Ryuu glanced up at the sky and began to frown.

"The sun is still out."

"We need our rest now. When nightfall comes, most of the inactive teams will go on the hunt."

"But that's why we have Suzuka. She can just tell us when someone is about to sneak up on us." Aoi began to rub her temple as if she had a headache as she groan.

"We can't always rely on Suzuka's gift, you know? Not to mention the strain she goes through to keep it activated for as long as she did. And you heard Naruto, there are also guys out there who are just as strong as he is. They may be able to track us without Suzuka knowing. There is no such thing as a _perfect jutsu,_ we learned that in the academy. Well at least _we _did." Ryuu growl again as he glared at her.

"Here we go with the Naruto thing again. I don't understand how you can trust someone who you don't even know."

"We already went over this. You are beginning to sound like a broken record baka-Ryuu."

"I think it's better if we take a rest too." Suzuka said in her gentle tone trying to play peacemaker.

"There you have it. It's two against one now so it's decided that we set up camp now."

"She shouldn't even count. She always takes your side."

"That's because my side always make sense."

"Conceded much?"

"Only to the ignorant" She said with a large grin on her face that finally sent Ryuu over the age with anger.

"That's it!" He pulled out a kunai and aimed it at her throat that caused Aoi to give him a look that was literally daring him to do something. "We decided right here, right now, who is the leader of the group!"

"That has already been settled too, baka. Ino-sensei is the leader until she declares someone is second in command."

"Then why do you always act like the leader?!"

"I only decide things that are reasonable and logical while you decide things that are idiotic and incomprehensible. Now, I'm only going to say this again once, do not yell and drop the kunai." She stated in a calm voice as she continued to glare up at him.

"Lets just camp for now ok, Ryuu?" Suzuka asked as she stared up at him with pleading eyes. Ryuu made an incoherent grunt noise as he pulled back his kunai and walked over to a nearby tree and plopped down.

"Fine, I don't care anymore."

"That's a good boy."

"Aoi…" Suzuka gave Aoi a very disapproving glare that caused her sigh.

"Gomen… gomen."

Before they decided to rest completely, Suzuka set up several triggers and spread them over fifty yards in all directions that was geared to notify her with a light jolt when someone with the life force similar to that of a human or large animal crossed it.

Despite his arguing, Ryuu was the first to fall asleep after a few minutes of silence. Aoi, on the other hand, was the last to. She was toying with the scroll that Naruto gave her. It had an interesting design that she hadn't seen before. It had some kind of seal on it that she hadn't seen before that seem to put her in a trance as she traced it with her index finger.

Suddenly Suzuka began to stir in her sleep causing Aoi to snap out of her daydream as she glanced over at her _imouto. _Despite how hard she tried to protect her, Suzuka was the one who had improved more than all of them. She only got noticed because she was more open with her abilities. Suzuka was the only genin she wasn't sure if she could beat or not in a real fight.

"So, what do we have here?" A foreign voice asked, causing Aoi to leaped up in shock. She glanced up to see someone in an all-black hooded cloak that made him look almost like a ghost. She glanced back at Suzuka and noticed that she had a pained look on her face.

'_So that's why she was getting restless?'_ Aoi asked herself as she quickly began to go through several methods to keep them all alive.

"Where's your team?" Aoi asked in a commanding tone.

"Team? Heh… I don't need one." She slowly placed her hand on the ground hoping it wouldn't see her.

"Don't think I can't see you hand move. If you want to live it is better for you to just remain still and answer a few questions of mines." His raspy deep caused Suzuka to wake up and nearly jump when she saw the man's figure.

"And those questions are?"

"There was a very powerful chakra explosion earlier today. Do you know what caused that?"

"Why do you need to know?" Aoi asked as she glanced around him to see if Ryuu was alright – he was still fast asleep.

'_Baka!' _she yelled in her head.

"I'm the one asking questions here."

"No, I don't know what it was. That is why we were heading the opposite direction." The shadowy figure seemed to be pleased with her answer until his eyes caught something that was in her other hand.

"And where did you get that tiny little scroll?"

"This?" she slightly raised the scroll to make sure that was what he was asking about. "It's a memento from my father to wish me good luck for the exams. "

"I see…"

"Wahhhh!!" the battle cry of her stupid teammate caused her to regret the day the Shikamaru-sensei decided that he would be their third teammate. Ryuu slung several of his special kunai at the man creating a barrage of explosions. As soon as he landed on the ground, he slung several more adding the explosive demotion show he was putting on. He quickly backpedaled pulling out a katana this time and reading himself for anything.

It was safe to say that Aoi was quite surprise by his movements and that she felt like she was watching someone else. That was when it hit her, his movements were almost identical to those of Naruto's – save for the fact that they were horribly sloppy.

As soon as the smoke cleared, the man was still standing there, or levitating since you couldn't see his feet, with only a few scorch marks on his robe.

"How the hell does everybody just bat off my attacks!!" Ryuu yelled in frustration as he charged towards him.

"Baka, stop!" Aoi yelled as she watched the man wave one hand, sending Ryuu flying hard into a tree. Aoi sent a pulse of her chakra that created a wave of ice that caught the bottom of his robe. It seemed it was just enough to immobilize him temporarily. She then dropped the scroll Naruto gave her and punched the ground with her other hand, launching a much larger wave of ice, this time completely incasing him in a miniature glacier. Suzuka was still locked with fear as Ryuu rammed his katana through the black ice with his left hand. He then followed up by going through several hand seals with his right hand, right before he gripped the hilt with both hands, causing the blade of the katana to blaze up in a violent array of warm colors before an intense explosion sent everyone in the area flying.

Aoi caught her balance in mid air and forced herself to land on her feet as she caught Suzuka by her waist and pulled her close to her. Ryuu ran up to them with the largest smile on his face.

"BAKA!" Aoi yelled as she glared at him.

"Hey don't complain. We got him, didn't we? What do you think of my latest jutsu? I was hoping to keep it a secret from you until I used it on you – oh well."

"It's too flashy." The same raspy voice answered as he levitated over a limb in the tree behind him. Ryuu quickly threw several shurikens with explosive tags on them towards him, but he watched as they soared right through him, as if he wasn't even there. The weapons landed in the tree causing another explosion of lesser magnitude that the previous. The top part of the tree began to collapse as fire consumed it.

"You really enjoy your fireworks, eh, chibi?"

"Think is really starting to wear my nerves."

"We have more important things to worry about thanks to you, baka!" Aoi yelled as she pulled him and Suzuka along with her as she began to run.

"Why are we running? I never run from a challenge!"

"Fine!" Aoi yelled as she released him. "Fend for yourself then. That guy is clearly out of your league but if you want to commit suicide then be my guest!"

"There is no need to worry about that. You all will be dying here together anyway." Aoi turned around to see the strange man levitating in front of her now.

'_When did he get in front of us?'_ Aoi thought as she realized her options were running short.

"The scroll." Suzuka said, her eyes flashing blue as a genkai was formed around them. Thanks to the heat of the moment, Aoi had forgotten all about the scroll that Naruto gave her. She glanced behind her and noticed that the scroll was still on the ground several yards down.

"Ryuu, you think you can get to the scroll back there?!"

"Fuck the scroll!"

"Just do it if you can! I'm serious!" Ryuu growled as he stared at the scroll. He couldn't believe he was risking his life for something this pointless. He rather die fight anyway, not trying to retrieve a pointless item that a dangerous nuke-nin gave them.

"That scroll seems to have some sort of importance to you. Don't think I'll let you get it that easily." The man said as he suddenly appeared in a black haze in front of Ryuu right before he back handed him. But to his surprise the attack had no affect on Ryuu, who quickly began to sprint toward the scroll. The man glanced up at Suzuka, whose eyes were still flashing blue.

"That girl…? Interesting. I wonder how much she can hold out."

"She doesn't need to hold back anymore!" Aoi yelled with a smile on her face. The reason why I sent Ryuu after the scroll was because he was always the fastest in the academy – so fast that no one was even near him. "Open the scroll now!"

"Whatever!" Ryuu yelled as he unraveled the scroll. Suddenly, a bright flash of light was set off as a very loud growl was heard.

"What was that?" The newcomer asked as he turned around. In the blink of an eye, he found himself staring down at the eyes of a large kitsune with silver flames for fur as its three tails were swinging around like they had a mind of their own.

The man leapt backwards, finally revealing to them that he did have feet, trying to create some distance between himself and the beast but he quickly found himself wrapped up by one of its tails and his cloak began to burn from the immense heat. His body suddenly disappeared in the same black mist as earlier. Suddenly, a little wooden statue dropped to the ground as the kitsune began to sniff it. It then glared over at Aoi before disappearing in a blaze of fire leaving nothing but smoke in its place.

"Is it gone?" Ryuu asked as he surveyed their surroundings.

"I don't know…." Aoi answered as she walked up to the statue and picked it up.

"What's that?" Suzuka asked as she too took a closer look.

"I don't have a clue what it is. It's my first time seeing anything of the sort."

"Weird… oh well, now maybe we can finally get some shut eye." Ryuu said while yawning.

"Sleep? Its already morning – we can do all the sleeping we want when we get the hell out of the forest."

"Nani?!"

"Lets move it before something else come to get us." Aoi stated as she began to walk. Suzuka quickly followed behind her while Ryuu merely growled and stared at the back of her head.

**III**

Thanks to the rest, it seemed that Yugito had finally calmed down a little but she still was far from normal. Her left eye remained in its youkai state while her claws were still out. At least now she could control herself, unlike before.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked as she realized that she was resting in Naruto's lap with his arms around her.

"All night."

"Gomen nasai"

"No need to apologize to me. We just need to figure out what's causing your control over the Nekomatta to go out of control." Naruto said in a very gentle voice. Yugito smiled as she felt the warmth of her husband body and snuggled even closer to him.

"I think this forest has something to do with it."

"How so?"

"Well… this is rumored to be the prison of the Nekomatta back in the past right? Maybe its reacting to its surroundings for fear of being trapped in here again."

"Maybe –" before Naruto could finish his sentence, he notice a suddenly pinch of chakra pulsate from his arm as a little kit appeared in a blaze of fire. "I see they used you, eh?" The kit nodded its head before yawning and disappearing in a puff of smoke. "Well now we know for sure that we are not the only ones looking for the artifact here too."

"I guess that just makes us that much closer."

"Yup. Hopefully we can get to it before they do."

"Yeah…."

Translation:  
**Imouto**: Little Sister  
**Kassatsu**: Life or Death


	6. 6th Sight: Umihime

**Author's Notes: Once again I'd like to thank SoulCry for reading over this chapter to and also taking over the beta job for Immanence as well. And as usually I like to thank all you guys who have been following all my stories and giving me great reviews. Look forward to reading more reviews and hope you enjoy this latest chapter. **

**  
Vanished Without a Trace**  
6th Sight: Umihime

While Naruto and Yugito were hunting down the rumored artifact in the Forest of Death, Umihime was trying her best to behave while fighting off boredom. One could say living with the two jinchuuriki had caused her to view the plain and slow life as uninteresting and downright dull. It was becoming a task for her to stay awake as she sat on the couch with her legs crossed watching some random shinobi soap opera, not understanding what was going on at all.

She yawned once as she watched a kunoichi slap the man she was talking to and storm off. She heard someone enter the room and again yawned.

"Don't you think it's too early for her to be watching soap operas, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked right before she realized that said person wasn't even paying attention as she took another gulp of saki before yawning herself. "And I also don't think it is appropriate to drink in front of her too!" Shizune scolded.

"I'm sure that she won't pick up any random habit of mine or from that show. She is much smarter than you think she is – a huge surprise when you consider who her father is." Shizune giggled a little.

Another yawn from Umihime caused both of them to glance in her direction.

"Are you sleepy?" Shizune asked as she walked up to her.

"Nope."

"You sure."

"Yup."

"You're not lying are you?"

"Umihime wouldn't lie to Shizune-nee-chan." She stated with a huge grin on her face that brought home memories of the young Naruto for Shizune. "Umihime is bored…" she dragged on as she glanced back toward the TV.

"I see – well, would you like to hang out with Sakura at the hospital today?" Umihime's eyes literally lit up as she nodded her head. She would rather enjoy doing anything but just sitting still all day.

"Ok then, Sakura will be by any minute now. I'll let you know when she gets here."

"Ok!"

Shizune smiled again before walking into the kitchen to fix her a drink of juice right before she heard a knock at the front door.

"That was faster than I thought." Shizune said to herself as she went to open the door. There stood in front of the door a very flustered Sakura with one Konohamaru smiling with several bruises on his head. "W-what happened to you?!"

"Someone thought it would be a good idea to try out a _new _type of hentai jutsu on some of the genin at the hospital." Sakura stated.

"Hey… they looked down in the dumps and I wanted to give them a little bit of excitement to help them out." Konohamaru said as he slowly started to shy away from his oppressor.

"And here I thought you had grown out of that childish stage of yours. I mean even Naruto was able to do it – why in hell can't you?!" Sakura yelled as a random vein popped up in her forehead.

"Umm…." It seemed that the two had forgot all about Shizune who was standing in front of them.

"Oh, gomen… I'm here to give the daily reports to Shishou-sama. This one just decided to tag along hoping to find Naruto."

"Aren't you the chuunin instructor for the third exam? Why aren't you preparing for that?" Shizune asked.

"Well the second exam just started and I figured that I still had a day to enjoy the festivals."

"Ok, both Naruto and Yugito are out doing something right now. Why didn't you tell him that, Sakura?"

"This kid is just as stubborn as Naruto used to be."

"Not a kid… Anyway what are they doing?"

"I can't really say to be honest." Konohamaru seemed to think of something as his eyes went off somewhere. The sound of a very annoying gaki – to him that is – caused him to be abruptly brought back to reality.

"Konnichiwa, Sakura-nee-chan!" Umihime shouted as she dashed to the door.

"That reminds me, is it ok if Umihime goes with you for a little bit? I think she is getting bored with just sitting around the house doing nothing."

"It's ok with me. Naruto also couldn't sit still for a long time either."

"It's amazing how much she reminds me of him every time I see her face."

"But I'm positive that she got her brains from her mother." Tsunade said suddenly appearing behind Shizune. "Don't just stand at the door front all day and come in. Sakura, follow me to my study so we can go over the reports."

"Hai."

The group of Shizune, Konohamaru, and Umihime walked into the living room as the other two went off to discuss business.

Konohamaru was sort of sitting on pins and needles as he watched the young girl sit down on the couch and cross her legs. She was quiet – too quiet for his liking. For some reason he couldn't get over the thought that she was plotting something against him – the little monster…

"Nani?" Umihime asked as Konohamaru realized that he was staring at her.

"Nothing… where did your parents go?" Umihime turned her head and proceeded to ignore him as if the TV was more important to him. "Hey! I asked you a question!" he slightly raised his voice to show her that he had the authority but she only continued watch TV.

"He—"

"Umihime is trying to watch TV." She stated without even glancing at him. Konohamaru's face grew a dark shade of red as he tried to bite back his frustration and anger.

"You guys want anything to drink?" Shizune asked as she returned to the living with a couple of cups of juice.

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" Umihime said as she reached up and grabbed a cup.

"So polite, who taught you such manners?"

"My papa." Her smile was almost blinding.

'_This good girl act is making me sick...'_ Konohamaru thought.

"I think you should take notes from her, Konohamaru-kun." Shizune said as she handed him a cup as well. He merely scoffed at the thought until he caught Umihime sticking her tongue out at him.

"Hey!"

"What is it?" Shizune asked giving Umihime enough time to return to her normal position before Shizune saw her.

"Urgh… nothing…" he said as he took a sip. Shizune stepped back out of the room allowing Konohamaru to a shoot a very hateful glare at the girl. Suddenly all of the juice in his cup slapped him splashing all over his face and clothes. He instantly shot a look over at Umihime who was watching TV but wearing a very dark grin. He knew she was the cause of this oddity but he didn't even sense her use any chakra at all.

"You guys—what the hell did you do to yourself this time?" Sakura scolded as soon as she walked into the living to see a fuming Konohamaru covered in juice.

"It was her!" He pointed in a childish manner.

"Umihime didn't do anything." Umihime said as she looked up at Sakura with some of the cutest pair of cerulean blue orbs that caused Sakura to believe her over him.

"Grow up… Don't blame others for your misfortunes." She said as she shook her head.

"Have fun with Sakura and Konohamaru, Umihime-chan!" Shizune said as she walked back in.

"Umihime will!" she cheered as she grabbed her backpack that was resting on the coffee table and dashed out of the front door before the other two. Shizune giggled as she handed Konohamaru a towel.

"Don't worry, I think she likes you. You're just easy for her to tease." Shizune said with a smile on her face.

"Huh… you knew?!"

Shizune merely smiled.

"But it is your fault that you are so easy to tease." She said as she walked off.

"What were you guys talking about?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, nothing." Shizune replied as she exited the room.

"Ok. We should hurry up and catch up to her before she gets lost."

"Which would be a good thing…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing…"

As soon as the two stepped outside they saw Umihime waiting along side the house wall with a large grin on her face. Just being outside again had quickly brightened her mood. All her short life had been spent in nature and the sun's rays seemed to revitalize her stamina.

"Ready to go?" Sakura asked, to which Umihime nodded her head as the two began to head toward the hospital.

"Wait… you guys are leaving me behind?"

"You only followed me to find Naruto, right? I told you and Shizune-nee-chan told you as well that they were busy. So you no longer have a reason to follow me anymore."

"Yeah, but –"

"But?"

"I'm kind of bored since I won't have anything to do until the third exam."

"You're just going to annoy the patience again at the hospital."

"No… I won't – I promise." Sakura crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him just like Tsunade used to do to Naruto when he was younger. Suddenly something struck her like a bolt of lightening.

"Hinata is also working at the hospital today too, right?"

"Yeah, but you already know that – why are you asking?"

"I recently heard that Hanabi was also helping her out as well." Suddenly Konohamaru face flashed a bright red causing Umihime to laugh out loud while Sakura only wore a devilish grin. "Knew it! That was the real reason why you were at the hospital."

"N-n-no way! I told you I was just trying to help out!"

"Whatever… last I heard Hanabi was also volunteering to help out some of the academy students that will be taking their genin exams pretty soon with a few ninjutsu and taijutsu lessons over at field ten."

"Nani?! How come I wasn't told of this?!"

"Oh?" Sakura's grin grew even deeper.

"D-don't get the wrong idea. Teaching the gaki is something that would interest me much more than hanging around the hospital all day."

"Yeah, yeah… well, we will be heading out now."

"Umihime wants to go see the academy students too." Umihime tugged on the bottom part of Sakura's skirt. Sakura sighed a little bit as she glanced back at Konohamaru.

"No…" he instantly said not even allowing her to ask the question. A vein popped up on her forehead as he made a silent gulp and backed up a little.

"I still have things to do at the hospital and she would also enjoy herself more if she was around younger kids."

"But—"

"I'm sure you'll be more than willing to help me out, ne?" even though her tone was kind and sweet but the dangerous amount of killer intent she was emitting told Konohamaru that it would be wise for him to comply with her demand.

"Ok…"

"Great! I will be by to check up on things around five, ok?"

"Hai…" he said in a tired tone. "Come on gak—I mean Umihime-chan – lets go."

"Hai!" she sang as she grabbed his hand. For a second he thought this wouldn't be as bad as he thought it would be if she were going to behave like this for the rest of the day.

*****

It only took them several minutes to make it to field ten where Hanabi was already standing with about twelve academy students sparring with one another in pairs of two – there were also a few more chuunin supervising the training.

"How's it going, Hanabi-chan!" Konohamaru shouted as he waved his hand in the air at her. Her typical Hyuuga stoic expression shifted to one of annoyance as she realized who it was that was calling her name.

"What do _you_ want?" he seemed to brush that one off without a hint of hesitation.

"Why wasn't I told about these lessons?"

"Since you were selected to be a instructor of the exams they figured that it wouldn't be right to invite you here too. Which I was happy for…" she said as she continued to glare at him.

"But I love doing this kind of stuff!" he said with a cheerful expression on his face as he raised both of his hands. This was when he realized that Umihime was no longer by his side. He began to scan his area looking for her.

"What are you looking for?"

"Naruto's daughter…"

"Why in hell did he let someone as irresponsible as you watch over her?"

"Hey… I'm doing Sakura a favor, ok?"

"Who is this kid?" one of the other chuunin asked as both Konohamaru and Hanabi turned toward that direction.

Umihime was standing in between two students looking at them with a very curious expression on her face.

"Umihime wants to know why are you fighting..."

"We are not fighting, we are sparring. This is a part of our training and a little chibi like you shouldn't get in our way." One of the students said as he glared down at her.

"Hey don't be mean to her!" The student he was sparring against yelled.

"Spar-_ring_? Umihime wants to try! Umihime does it a lot with her mama and papa!"

"No way, I'm not in the mood to hear a baby cry."

"Umihime won't cry!" she shouted as she glared up at him.

"Umihime! What are you doing, get back over here!" Konohamaru yelled.

"Yeah, listen to Konohamaru-senpai and get out of our way."

"No! Umihime wants to try!" she shouted back at him with her fist balled.

Hanabi closed her eyes, which caused Konohamaru to think that she was beginning to get annoyed with the girl.

"Lets just humor her a bit. Mizo, go easy on her!" she shouted to the student who had been arguing with Umihime.

"Nani? Why do _I _have to?"

"Because _I _said so!" she yelled back with her fierce Hyuuga glare that could scare almost anyone inexperienced to death – the students included.

"Hai…"

"And if you hurt her badly I will kill you." She added causing him to sigh even louder.

'_How is it possible not to hurt her badly since she is four or something like that…'_ the student thought as he crouched down in a defensive stance. "Ok, you get the first attack."

"Hai!"

"What are you thinking Hanabi-chan?" Konohamaru asked. He knew Umihime was gifted but highly doubted she was on genin level.

"Just watch."

Umihime reached around in her backpack and pulled out a water bottle. She opened the bottle and slung the water in the air allowing it to rain down on them.

"What was that for?" the student asked. Umihime only giggled as she dashed quickly toward him – a lot faster than anyone had expected – and landed a heavy blow to his abdomen knocking the breath out of him.

On instinct he sent a violent backhand at her direction that caused everyone to gasp hoping that she wouldn't be seriously injured – Konohamaru more than anyone else since he would have to deal with an angry Sakura _and_ an even angrier Naruto.

But his hand only flowed smoothly through her body as it dispersed in a splash of water.

"A mizu bushin?" he asked as his eyes told the story of just how shock he was. The majority of the students there couldn't use any d-level jutsu except the bushin no jutsu – him being the only one who could do a little more – yet she had just performed jounin level jutsu.

While he was stunned with shock the water quickly flowed behind him and retook the shape of Umihime as she leaped in the air and landed a side kick to the small of his back sending him crashing to the ground. She then proceeded to use gravity to her advantage as she landing on top of his back adding more to injury. He released a loud groan before he lost consciousness.

"Awww… Umihime wants to keep playing. Papa and mama can last a lot longer than this!" she pouted as she punched the student in his back. She was oblivious to the fact that everyone around her was flabbergasted.

"What did hell did Naruto-nii-san teach her?!" Konohamaru asked no one as he was trying his hardest to pick his jaw off of the ground.

Umihime stood up and glanced over at him with a smile on her face.

"Want to play?" she asked in such an innocent tone that it almost shed the fact that they were all thinking she was some kind of bakemono offspring – which wasn't far from the truth giving who her parents were.

"Nani?" before he realized it, he was forced to back up quickly as water began to splash in his direction. The moment he took his eyes off her she had disappeared. "Where'd she go?!" he shouted.

"Above you!" Hanabi answered as her Byakugan activated.

He was barely quick enough to fend off her foot as she landed on top of his forearm and perfectly balanced herself there with a playful grin on her face. Her body then burst into water as it splashed all over him. In the seconds of the commotion she appeared behind him sending a left foot to the back of his left knee but he was quicker than she was as he slid his leg to right just dodging the attack.

Instead of staying on the offensive she bounced back as quick as a neko as she leaped into the trees.

"She thinks this is a game." Hanabi stated with an unusual smile on her mask.

"And how is that going to help me calm her down? My neck is on the line here if something happens to her, you know?"

"I'm more worried about our little chibi here than you body parts. Luckily she has found a very amusing play _toy_."

"Is that all I am now?" he said in an exhausted tone.

Hanabi laughed as he continued to search for the girl.

"Plus, I think she is more than capable of taking care of herself judging by how she is dealing with us right now. I have to admit that her parents raised her to be quite the capable kunoichi at such a young age. Maybe nee-sama should have hooked up with that blond baka after all if this is how he raised his children."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Surprisingly so."

Konohamaru sighed out loud again just before relaxing his stance but that was what Umihime was waiting for. He felt a hand grip the back of his leg and sling him hard against the ground. The hand was cold and very damp – further observation proved that the hand was made completely of water and had sprouted up from the ground.

"Just how strong is she!" he shouted as he fought to free himself.

The patter of a dozen footsteps caused him to look up at the sight of several mizu clones charging toward him. He finally set himself free and leaped up and began to engage the clones. He didn't know how high her pain tolerance was, so instead of going with full power he lightly tapped the back of the neck of each one hoping he could find the original – unfortunately all of them dropped to a puddle of water.

Two more leaped out of a puddle behind him and finally connected with a chain of kicks and punches before he managed to fight them off too.

"Looks like she is getting the best of you." Hanabi said with her arms crossed.

"You're not going to help me get her under control?"

"Didn't you already discover that this was also entertaining for me too?"

"Yeah, yeah, but this is all at my expense."

"It is your job to babysit her, isn't it? Consider this a part of the mission that has been handed to you too. You are a chuunin after all." Hanabi's usual cold tone proved that she had absolutely no intentions of helping him in this matter. He let out a loud growl as his frustration was starting to get the best of him.

"Ok, Umihime-chan! Play time is over – come out before I get serious!" He allowed a bit of his chakra to flare up, showing that he was meaning business. He wasn't sure if she could properly read chakra yet but was positive that her parents had at least touched up on it, since she knew how to perform such complicated jutsu already.

Suddenly Umihime leaped down from one of the near by trees with a large Naruto-like-grin on her face as she had her arms crossed.

"Umihime had fun!" she cheered causing Konohamaru to sweat drop and Hanabi to burst in a fit of laughter.

"I think I might adopt her as my own little imouto-chan." Hanabi said as she walked up to the girl.

Unexpectedly a large amount of chakra mixed with a monstrous amount of killer intent caused everyone – Umihime included – to freeze right in their tracks. The source seemed to have come from the direction of the Forest of Death.

"What the hell was that?!" Konohamaru yelled as he somehow managed to take control of his emotion enough to break his body's trance.

"Mama!" Umihime shouted. Konohamaru sighed a little. He began to think that maybe she was a little normal – even he was scared for a second.

"It's ok, Umihime-chan, we'll protect you if something were to happen." Hanabi said as she tried to comfort the child.

"No… Umihime is not scared! Mama is hurting!"

"Nani?"

"Mama is "hurting"?" Hanabi repeated the question in her state of confusion.

Umihime broke free from Hanabi's hold as began to slowly back up.

"What is it, Umihime-chan?" Hanabi asked concerned about the girl.

"Stop her!" Konohamaru yelled as something popped in his head.

"What are you talking about? It's obvious that she is already scared enough."

"If we don't stop her –" before he could finish his sentence her body dissolved into a puddle of water.

"She just shushined?" Hanabi said a little bit shocked.

"Too late…"

"What do you know?" Hanabi demanded as she glared at him.

"She mentioned her mom was "hurting" right after we felt that strange chakra. I think she is going to try to rescue her mom from whatever is going on."

"You mean to tell me that monstrous chakra was Umihime-chan's mom?!"

"It explains a lot about her own strength don't you think? She obviously has two freakishly strong parents who probably have been training her since she could walk – not to mention she had to inherit some of their gifts."

"I know that baka. This means she is most likely heading toward the Forest of Death."

"Think you can help me now?" He asked with a mask of seriousness covering his face. She nodded her head since she felt a little bit of obligation to the girl that she wanted to adopt. "Ok, see if you and Suni can track her down before she gets there. I have to tell Sakura and hope that she doesn't kill me."

"I'll take care of the kids." The third chuunin named Keito added. The other three chuunin nodded as they quickly split up.

**II**

Things were going fine at the hospital until that strange chakra sent everything in a hectic frenzy. Sakura was in charge of the hospital and this was making her job all the more annoying and painstaking. The strange chakra had caused previously sealed wombs to reopen, normally calm traumatized patients to return to their anxiety attacks, and the babies in the nursery to wail.

"What in the world was that?" Hinata asked Sakura as pools of sweat was literally pouring from her forehead.

"I don't know but it wasn't a good thing."

Suddenly Sakura caught a glimpse of Konohamaru charging up to her in the corner of her right eye and also noticed that Umihime wasn't with him.

"What is it? This better be important because I really don't have the time for this right now."

"You felt it, right? That huge chakra?"

"What do you know about that?" Sakura demanded.

"That was Naruto's wife, according to Umihime-chan."

"And where is she right now?" Konohamaru body slouched down in a pitiful pose as he shyly glanced at her.

"That's the problem. She dashed off to the Forest of the Death to _rescue_ her mom. Hanabi and Suni went off to get her before she made it but I doubt they will be able to catch her before she makes it there."

"How in hell can you let her run away?!" Sakura yelled as she lifted him by his collar.

"Well… she is surprisingly strong. She beat up one of the stronger kids from the academy in three hits in a spar and even gave me some trouble while thinking it was all a game. She knew several high level jutsu."

"Still, she is only a little girl and that place is deadly even for adults! And if that really was her mother than there is no telling what is going on in there right now!"

"That's why I came to tell you!" he shouted.

Hinata gently placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura glanced over at her right before letting out a loud sigh calming down releasing him from her ironclad grip.

"My hands are tied here at the hospital – go notify Shishou-sama and Shizune-nee right now. They will be able to handle things." Konohamaru nodded as he shushined off in a whirlwind of leaves.

"I'm sure my imouto and Suni-san will be able to get to her before anything happens." Hinata said trying to comfort Sakura.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's take care of things here."

**III**

Umihime knew that she was being trailed by the others but for some reason she couldn't help but run to her mother. It was like something was pulling her to the forest as if it was her mother's own voice. She had been feeling it all day since her parents left that morning – it just wasn't as strong as it was now. Now it felt like something bad was going to happen to her parents if she didn't show up.

She suddenly stopped right in front of the gate to the entrance of the Forest of Death. She didn't know the reason for her stop – maybe it was something just as strange as the thing that was calling her, telling her to go back.

"Mama, be ok…" she said to herself as she decided to tread on.


	7. 7th Sight: Shinto Part I

**Author's Note: Nice! Finally broke the century mark with this too! Thanks everyone for all your support!**

**A little side note, I just started a new story called Eminence that is based on the coming up my favorite Naruto character, Pain. It tells his side of the story from the beginning, so if you are interested please check that out as well.**

**Vanished Without a Trace**  
7th Sight: Shinto Part I

Yugito's condition had only slightly improved as she now rested quietly in Naruto's arms. The night was quiet and calming, a complete 360 from the aura it was emitting only a few hours ago. Naruto never would have imagined that those genin would have been forced to use the scroll but he was glad that he gave it to them anyway.

Yugito groaned in her sleep as she adjusted herself to a more comfortable position. He couldn't quite remember when was the last time the two of them had spent a night together like this. Every since Umihime had entered their world, their _playfulness _and _alone_ time had drop to an all time low. Not that they cared as much since they both were crazy about their prodigy daughter. But they also both agreed that they couldn't keep moving around with her like they have been doing. It wouldn't prove to be a healthy environment for her to grow up in.

Naruto glanced up at the pitch-black sky and released a tiring sigh. To say that he was in a hurry to find that artifact and get the hell out of this forest was an understatement. He didn't like seeing Yugito in this condition, nor did he feel comfortable leaving Umihime alone for a long time. This was actually the first time they have been parted since her birth and he has become a very dotting father since then – a little _to _dotting.

A sudden shift in the wind caught his attention as if it was an explosion. Yugito seemed to have sensed it as well as she once again stirred in her sleep. Not wanting to wake her just yet – since he had finally succeeded in calming her down – he quietly grabbed a kunai from the pouch that was tied to his leg with his free arm.

After a few minutes of waiting nothing happened after that but it was obvious that someone was there. He had been through so many convert missions that he learned almost every method of tracing someone's presence, and this potential intruder had made one grave mistake, the failure to completely conceal their scent.

Suddenly a quiet _ping_ noise was heard as Yugito instantly leaped backwards while Naruto deflected the sharp object with his kunai, batting it against the tree. Yugito quickly threw a kunai of her own at the source of the attack, but whatever it was that attacked them was no longer there.

The two of them stood motionless, allowing all of their five senses to react with their surroundings. Naruto sent a quick peek over at Yugito and noticed that her pupils were still in the shape of slits like a feline, which only served to heighten his feeling of urgency.

As soon as he blink she was gone, apparently she had caught on to the enemies' trace before he did. His right arm suddenly rose up on it's own as he just barely guarded off another attack from his right. He quickly spun around and sent a stiff kick to the chest of his attacker sending him flying to the ground. Before he could take advantage of his opponent's failure, the figure disappeared in a dark mist. Whoever it was that was attacking them wasn't as simple as the genin they had ran into earlier.

A loud grunt noise was heard to the north of him and Yugito instantly popped in his head. He quickly dashed forward and was almost caught by a knee to the forehead if he hadn't duck the blow just in time. He quickly grabbed the knee and slung the owner into the large tree next to them. In the same motion he grab another kunai and slung it with his free hand to the right. He heard a loud _thud_ sound followed by a body crashing to ground.

Yugito leaped out of nowhere and landed a kick to the figure that was standing right behind him and finished them off by tossing three shurikens into his throat before landing. Her breathing was very sporadic; it was easy to tell that she was struggling to contain herself. The bijuu within her was beginning to take control of her again.

Naruto grabbed the neck of the person he had just slammed into the tree and motioned for Yugito to follow him as he took to the trees. He wasn't sure if there was more than three but the last thing he needed was the Nibi to make its second appearance. It was no telling what kind of damage Yugito's body was going through while fighting the beast back as she was battling her attackers.

As soon as they reached a clearing he quickly dashed down slamming his captive against the ground hard at the same time.

"Who are you and why are you attacking us?" Naruto demanded as he heard Yugito land beside him.

"Yamainu-sama sends his condolences for the lost of your daughter." The man said before biting his own tongue _completely_ off.

"What the **FUCK** you just say to me?!" Naruto yelled as he grabbed the man with both his hands and began to shake him furiously.

It wasn't much longer until the man died of blood lost, it seemed that he had also used a jutsu to increase the amount of blood he would lose if forced to commit suicide in this method. Naruto released a loud howl as he slammed his fist into the dead man's face shattering his skull.

"Calm down Naruto! This is just Yamainu playing mind games with us right now. Umihime is with Tsunade and Shizune right now. And I can tell by just being near that old hag that she is strong enough to handle herself against the strongest of enemies."

Naruto stared up at his wife and noticed that her orbs had finally returned to normal. She had managed to beat back the bijuu within her to take care of her husband. That strength alone allowed Naruto to calm down.

"Yeah… you're right… I at least I hope you are…"

"Naruto…." Yugito shot him a glared that reminded him of his old days with Tsunade and Sakura beating the hell out of him.

"Yeah… yeah… we should get moving since you are already awake."

"But what about the mess _you_ made?"

"_I _made? You mean _we_ right?" he teased "We'll just let the ANBU take care of that for now. I really want to get this done before _he_ really does try something." He stated just before leaping back to the trees in a flash with Yugito chasing after him.

**II**

The Konoha genin squad that Naruto and Yugito had ran into earlier were still treading on in the forest with a new found confidence – thanks to experience of fighting three jounin level shinobi and surviving to talk about it later with their sensei and family still fresh on their minds.

Ryuu – still very proud – was sulking over the fact that all of his _original_ jutsu failed against all three opponents. Actually they just didn't fail; they were batted through like slow softballs at a homerun derby.

"Why the long face Baka-Ryuu?" Aoi teased.

"Will you stop calling me that already?!" he yelled as he leaped in her face.

"My bad for showing some sort of compassion to a _lesser_ teammate." She stated as she turned her back to him and began to walk off leaving him fuming.

"One of these days I'm going to kill you, ya know that?"

"If you don't die from your stupidity first."

"I hate you a lot."

"Wouldn't have it any other way Baka-Ryuu." She giggled as she finished her sentence.

"Come on guys, can we get alone for now?" Suzuka pleaded as she stood between them.

"Sure thing Suzuka."

"Don't make it seem like I'm the one causing problems!" Ryuu yelled as he caught up to the other two.

A sudden sound of rustling caught all three them off guard as they instantly tensed up. They all were beginning to hate this forest with a passion.

But the last thing they expected was a little kid with long blond hair crawling down to the small of her back dash passed them in blinding speed.

"W-w-w-what the hell was that?!" Ryuu asked as he pointed with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"A little girl?" Suzuka answered.

"N-no way! We have to catch up to her!" Aoi yelled as she dashed after her.

"Wait! This could be another trap; there's no way a little girl would be in this forest! And you call me the baka?!" Ryuu yelled as he chased after Aoi leaving Suzuka there by herself until she too decided that it was better to be with them than alone.

It took Aoi nearly ten minutes to catch up to the girl, not by choice though. Aoi was out of breath and about to give up on the chase until she noticed that the little girl was nowhere to be found. She stopped and placed her hands on both of her knees trying to take in as much oxygen as she could in a short amount of time.

"Why are you chasing Umihime?" the little girl asked from a tree limb as she stared down at Aoi.

"Umihime? Is that you're name?"

"Umihime ask you a question first. Why are you chasing Umihime." She reiterated with more force this time – which was a bit strange for Aoi to hear a threatening tone from a little child.

Finally Ryuu caught up to the two of them in the same shape, if not worst, than Aoi was.

"So where the gaki go?" Aoi pointed up causing Ryuu to follow her eyes. "She really is a little girl. What the hell?"

"Umihime is leaving!" she yelled as she quickly stood up.

"Wait! We were only chasing after you because we were worried about you. Why are you in this forest by yourself?"

Umihime paused for a second as she glared down at them as if she was deciding something in her tiny head before turning back around.

"Umihime doesn't have time to talk." She stated as she dashed off again.

"I said wait!" Aoi yelled again as she leaped up in the tree chasing after her again. At this time Suzuka finally caught up and grabbed Ryuu's arm.

"What is happening?"

"I don't have a damn clue. Aoi is so enamored by that little girl."

"So she was _real_?"

"I suppose…"

After a few minutes of chasing after her again, Aoi realized that this was no average girl – not to say she thought she was average before thanks to her being able to get in this forest in the first place, and lets not even talk about the tree hoping.

Aoi was about at her last straw when she suddenly decided to use one of her jutsu to create an ice dagger and lunched it toward Umihime. The dagger just barely missed but served its purpose, taking out the limb below her causing her to fall down to the forest floor.

"Damnit what was I thinking!" Aoi yelled as she realized that she could actually seriously injure the girl but nearly fell from the tree herself when she watched Umihime land gracefully on her feet almost like a neko.

The first thing the blond did was glare up at her pursuer with the up most animosity.

'_Don't tell me this girl plans on fighting me?!' _Aoi thought as she landed in front of her.

"Umihime said she didn't have time for this! Mama is in trouble!"

"Mama? Wait… Who is your mama?" Aoi tried to ask but was force to leaped backward as violent wave of water came crashing toward her. She glance over at the blond and noticed that she had just slung a bottle of water at her and turned it into a wave this powerful.

'_Just who is this kid?'_ Aoi thought as she just barely managed to escape.

She instantly raised her left hand up as Umihime leaped in the air and threw a sharp kick in her general direction. Aoi couldn't believe just how fast she was but wasn't about to allow herself to get bested by a little girl. She had worked to hard to gain the status of strongest genin in Konoha despite being a female.

She grabbed Umihime's leg when she was in the middle of her decline and pull her toward her but didn't expect her to counter by twisting in air and landing a heavy kick to Aoi's face sending her tilting backwards.

Umihime did another flip in the air landing on her feet in a pouncing position as she used her legs to thrust her into Aoi's body sending her crashing to the ground. Umihime then used Aoi's body as a springboard leaping off of her back into air before landing once again gracefully on her feet.

As soon as Umihime's feet had solid footing on the ground, a wave of ice incased her feet living her stuck to the ground long enough for Aoi to rebound and throw a punch at the girl's face but Umihime at the last minute dispersed in a small splash of water. Aoi quickly swung back and grabbed Umihime who was instantly behind her and slammed her into the ground.

The cold grip of Aoi's hand burned Umihime's skin as she tried to fight her way free. With her free hand she grabbed another water bottle from her backpack and slammed it against the ground hard enough to cause it to burst. Suddenly five Umihime's formed from the water and began to attack Aoi at once.

Aoi's hand continue to freeze everything it touch, making it very easy to fend off the mizu bushin's attacks.

Umihime was starting to get a little frustrated since this was the first person besides her parents to hold her back this much. She leaped backwards until she was standing side-by-side with her last clone as the two suddenly grabbed hands. The clone then returned to its original form as it began to cover Umihime.

Aoi didn't know what she was doing but she wasn't about to let her finish it but as soon as she reached the girl she noticed a great difference than before. The _little girl_ now stood at her height with piercing silver eyes and hair.

Umihime suddenly placed her hands in tora seal quickly shifting to the o-ushi, and then ending with the ryu seal right before yelling "Mizu Ryu Kasei!"

Aoi was more than unfamiliar with this jutsu and didn't quite know what to expect at first until she noticed that the girl's speed had nearly doubled as Umihime was now behind Aoi once again.

Aoi quickly sent a swift kick to her head but Umihime easily caught it and twisted it in a very violent method causing Aoi to shriek out in pain. Umihime then pushed on her foot applying more pressure to it before she kicked the leg that Aoi was placing all her weight on, causing her to crash to the ground.

Not only had she increased her speed but her power as well had doubled. This strange jutsu was taught to her by both her parents and was her last line of defense against strong opponents like Aoi. This was the first time she used it against someone else other than her mother though. Her mother had warned her each time that this jutsu would cause a great strain to her body since it wasn't use to maintaining a constant flow of chakra for a long period of time. That was a feat that not many chuunin could accomplish properly.

"Who is she?" Ryuu asked as Suzuka and him finally arrived to the scene to see the two battling each other.

"I think it's the little girl from before." Suzuka answered.

"See! I knew it was a trap! And she always called me the baka! Ha! Serves her right!"

"We should help her…" Suzuka said softly.

"No!" Aoi yelled as she forced herself back to her feet. "Stay out of this one ok." She pleaded as she returned her attention to the girl in front of her. Aoi could tell that Umihime was getting even more agitated now that her two teammates had finally caught up. She used that to gauge the girl's true strength and realize that the strange jutsu she had just used could have been her last resort.

She would most likely stay defensive now and look for a quick way to escape. But that wasn't what Aoi wanted. She knew that the girl was only fighting because she considered them a threat, and for some reason she couldn't help but to feel a strong resemblance between this girl and Uzumaki Naruto.

Then it suddenly hit her, Umihime had mentioned her mother earlier like she was searching for her. She quickly began to put two and two together.

"Umihime! Is your name daddy's name Naruto?"

Umihime froze in place as her guard instantly fell. That distraction caused the water to lose it's form as it poured to the ground like a mini waterfall revealing the original shape of the little blond girl from before.

"How do you know papa's name?"

"NANI??!!!" Ryuu shouted as he fell to the ground with shock.

Aoi began to walk toward Umihime who began to back up quickly with a very panic expression on her face. With her strongest jutsu gone she had nothing else to fend off the female with and she didn't know what to do.

"Wait… I won't hurt you ok? I just want to make sure you're ok. Your father actually saved our lives earlier. And I'm sure your mother is safe."

"But…" Umihime tried to say as fear began to take control of her. That is until Suzuka wrapped her gentle arms around her embracing her from behind.

"It's ok little one." Suzuka said in a calm voice. Umihime felt her fear disperse as her consciousness began to fade. Her body was exhausted from the strain she had placed on it. Her father had always warned her not to go all out since it was too much for her body to handle.

**III**

When Umihime came to, she noticed that someone was carrying her body. A streak of fear struck deep in her heart as she instantly fought to free herself from her captures. But she was once again met with reassuring hands as Suzuka hugged her from behind.

"We won't hurt you Umihime-chan."

"Huh?" was the only thing Umihime could say in her fit of confusion. She glanced to her right and noticed the blue girl that she was fighting earlier and tensed up. Aoi giggled a little as she shook her head.

"Don't worry, the fight's over. You can relax now." Aoi said as she smiled. Umihime stared at her for a few seconds before hopping off of Ryuu's back.

"Where are you taking Umihime?" she asked as she tried to get a grasp on her location.

"No where in particular, we are just taking you with us in the case that we run into your parents again. Unfortunately we can't take you back to the village since we are in the middle of a very important exam."

"Exam?" Umihime asked in a method that both Aoi and Suzuka found very cute to the point of squealing – Ryuu on the other hand was annoyed as usual.

The three of them had argued about what to do with her for about thirty minutes with Ryuu the only one wanting to just leave her to fend for herself. He didn't want to have any more distractions since they were yet to find their second scroll and they only had one day left.

"Yeah, it's a test to determine if we can become chuunin." Suzuka answered.

Suzuka was probably the one who was the most enamored with the child as she instantly took on the role of the big sister that was usual played by Aoi when it came to her.

"Umihime doesn't understand." She said as she placed her hand behind her head and made a goofy smile that was identical to the one that they saw Naruto wear.

"She definitely _his_ child…" they all said in unison. Umihime only gave them another confused look as she shrugged it off.

"Umihime-chan… why are you looking for your mother?" Suzuka asked.

"Umihime felt mama's pain. Umihime can help heal her." Umihime said as her face fell to a depressed expression.

"Don't worry, like Aoi-san said, your mother is ok. I can promise you." Suzuka declared with a bright smile on her face that matched the child's earlier one in brilliance.

"How come you're so strong Umihime? I still can't believe you gave me so much trouble. My ankle is still hurting from that one move you did." Aoi asked as she pointed down to her sore foot.

"Gomen nasai." Umihime said as she placed both of her hands together and bowed.

"Wow, she even more intelligent than baka-Ryuu!" Aoi cheered.

"Oi!!" Ryuu yelled as balled his fist. Aoi only laughed as she waved her hands.

"Mama and papa taught Umihime a lot of things." Umihime answered with a smile on her face. This was her first real time interacting with other _kids_ and she was actually enjoying herself.

"How old are you?" Suzuka asked. She answered by holding up her right hand spreading all five of her fingers.

"Five? That's amazing!" Aoi exclaimed.

"Baka! You're to loud." Ryuu yelled.

Suddenly the atmosphere grew heavy as the air around them became very thick and mucky. Ryuu made a grunt noise as he grabbed a kunai from his forehead protector and began to scan the area. Aoi did the same while Suzuka stepped in front of Umihime guarding her from anything. Even Umihime's expression had shifted to one of caution.

A loud bang was heard as the air literally ignited into a rage of flames surrounding them at every turn.

"What now!" Ryuu yelled as quickly pulled out several of his _special _shuriken and slung them in all direction in the sky before using the same jutsu as before causing all of them to explode in a blanket on fire.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Was it not hot enough already for you?" Aoi yelled.

"Baka, this is our cover so that we can escape. I don't know about you but I'm not in the mood right now to fight when I have this kid hovering around my feet. Plus, I'm not going to be the one to explain to her dad why she was killed in the middle of a battle." Ryuu stated.

"He's right Aoi-san. We can't fight here while we have Umihime-chan with us."

"I guess you do have a brain in that thick excuse for a skull you have there."

"Shut it!"

The four of them began to run hoping to escape whoever it was that was trying to attack them now, but they were stopped right in their paths by a rain of kunai nearly taking out Ryuu in the process.

"What the hell?" Ryuu shouted as he leaped backwards.

"You didn't think that little ploy of yours would save you now didn't you?" a female voice asked from a hidden location.

Another rain of kunai – this time covered in flames – was sent at them. Umihime quickly grabbed another water bottle from her backpack, opening it in the process, and flung it in the air causing the water to spread in every direction. Aoi used the same jutsu she used on Umihime earlier and touch the water with her left hand causing ice to spread over them creating a temporary shield.

The diversion served it purpose, allowing them enough time to escape the flames and kunai that continued to fly at them.

A sudden pulse of chakra caught Umihime's attention causing her to stop instantly. It wasn't for a few seconds later that Suzuka realized that Umihime was running along side them. She turned to see Umihime dashed off in the other direction.

"Wait Umihime-chan!" Suzuka yelled as she chased after her. Aoi and Ryuu stopped as well when they heard Suzuka's voice.

"I knew that damn kid would only bring trouble to us." Ryuu grunted as he and Aoi ran after Suzuka.

Before Umihime had even realized it, she was standing in the middle of a small lake – the source of the strong chakra source that was constantly resonating within her.

"What are you doing Umihime-chan?" Suzuka asked as she finally caught up to the girl.

"Do you feel what Umihime feels?" She asked as she slowly turned around with a blank expression on her face that frighten Suzuka.

"What are you talking about Umihime-chan?"

The water began to vibrate in the center where Umihime was standing causing Suzuka to fear the worst but for some reason she couldn't move from her spot. It almost felt like something was holding her in place. Suddenly the water exploded around Umihime causing Suzuka to scream out as a large shockwave of chakra sent her flying backwards.

As the water cleared, Umihime was still standing in the center untouched by the water. Chakra seemed to be leaking out of body as her once vibrant azure eyes were now a pale blue. As Suzuka took a closer look she noticed one major difference than before, in her hands were two cerulean kusarigama with its cobalt-shaded chains wrapped around each wrist.

"I was sent to kill the kid and here I find something even better." The voice from before said still hidden from sight.

**IV**

Naruto was in the middle of refilling his canteen when suddenly both his _Kamikaze _and _Kagokasai _began to pulsate madly to the point where they dispersed his genjutsu. Yugito quickly came running toward Naruto.

"Are yours acting up as well?" she questioned. Naruto only nodded his head.

All of a sudden a violent wave of chakra was sent through the area causing them to stumble a little bit as the water around them literally erupted like a volcano.

"Umihime?!" they both shouted at the same time as they instantly recognized the chakra surge.

------  
Translations:  
**Mizu Ryu Kasei**: (Water Dragon Transformation) Umihime fuses with one of her Mizu bushin allowing her to temporary increase of shinobi attributes and size.


	8. 8th Sight: Shinto Part II

**Author's Note: What it do?! Not to much to say here but a happy belated New Years and Merry Christmas. Thanks again for taking the time to read this story and I look forward to your reviews. **

**Special thanks to **_**Itachi's apprentice **_**for burst of reviews in one day and of course SoulCry for beta reading this for me.**

**Vanished Without a Trace**  
8th Sight: Shinto Part II

Suzuka couldn't believe the immense amount of chakra that the young blond was emitting from her tiny body; not to mention the magical appearance of the two weapons that she now wielded. She knew that Umihime was strong but her predictions didn't even hold a candle to what she was feeling right now.

"Umihime?!" She called out to the girl as she began to slowly walk toward her.

Umihime slowly gazed over at the source of the voice that called out to her. Her pale blue eyes looked deprived of all life as her pupils were nowhere to be seen. Suzuka was forced to stop in her tracks as her body began to scream for her to get away. There was something wrong with this situation, something that just didn't feel right to her.

"Umihime! What's wrong?!" She called out again hoping to get some kind of response from this girl that had just became her own imouto. But the response she got was something that she didn't expect to happen.

She suddenly found herself ducking as one of the chained sickles Umihime was wielding slashed at her head. As she glanced up, she managed to put both of her arms up just in time to fend off a right kick aimed for her lowered head.

Suzuka quickly dashed backwards, exiting the water and returning to land, hoping to give herself a better chance at defending. She had just learned from Ino how to stand on water but it was still a task to move around, let alone fight on it. Not saying that she was actually looking forward to engaging the possessed girl.

Umihime quickly tugged on the chain of the kusarigama in her right hand, allowing it to pull back like a snake being called back by its master. A second look from Suzuka and she noticed that both weapons were moving as if they had a will of their own. She began to deduce that those weapons were the cause of Umihime's sudden hostile change.

She reached down into her pouch and pulled out two kunai; she knew what she had to do even if she was not really up to the challenge. Aoi had trouble with her when she was fighting with everything she had earlier, now with those weapons increasing her chakra output and fighting efficiency, this was looking to be a helpless situation.

'_Man, I wish Aoi-san was here…'_ She thought as she gripped the handle of her kunai until her knuckles went white.

The emotional deprived mask of Umihime glared at Suzuka for a very short second before disappearing into the water around them. Suzuka began to search the area hoping to gain a trace of her chakra when she realized that there was no need for that. She had allowed the dire situation to dictate her emotions and thoughts, causing her to forget all that she had learned from her sensei and parents.

"Ikinoo Gantai!"

She released a chakra pulse of her own, noticeably minute compared to Umihime's, but its purpose was only to allow her sixth sense to gain insight on her surroundings. Every single living thing began to pulsate, allowing her to know everything that was around her and their whereabouts. She could sense their life force and their attentions.

She quickly found the whereabouts of Umihime and a second, more malicious, person hiding in the trees. No doubt their attacker from earlier. She knew that she would have to finish this quickly before things got out of control. She may or may not be on par with the current Umihime but the second person was leagues above her and she wouldn't be able to save Umihime if he were to interfere.

A loud explosion occurred in the center of the lake as two mizu dragons erupted from it as they tangled and intertwined around each other in Suzuka's direction. Suzuka was forced to use the second part of her kekkei genkai as a second pulse of chakra was sent through in the same wave as the first but this one allowed her to control the movements of the life forces around her and the two dragons seemed to have a life force of their own.

"Ikinoo Gantai: Undouseigyo!"

She waved her right hand to the side forcing the dragon on the right to crash to her side; she then did the same thing with her left hand, causing the second dragon to do the same. The monstrous amount of water splashed violently against the ground as Suzuka leaped into the air just in time as she landed on a tree limb, dodging most of the wave. She watched down as the two kusarigama from earlier that were hidden in each dragon snaked back into the water.

Umihime suddenly leaped out of the center of the water, as a large tsunami followed behind her, she unleashed a vicious amount of punches and kicks in Suzuka's direction. But with Suzuka's _Ikinoo Gantai _still in effect, each of the attacks was being pushed to the side just as quickly as they were thrown, but Suzuka was having a hard time keeping up with the young blond's increasing speed as each blow got closer and closer.

Suzuka decided to take a quick glance at Umihime's face and saw that it was void of all emotion; it looked almost like she defending herself from a robot – a killing machine.

That brief moment proved to be the one mistake that she would make, since it allowed her concentration to slip just enough to cause her to be on the receiving end of a powerful blow to the face, cracking the right side of her jaw as she was sent crashing toward the ground.

She felt a chain wrap around her left ankle as she was in the middle of her descent; the chain began to twist tightly, cutting off all circulation to her foot as she felt a violent tug from the top, causing her plummet to stop mid-fall and add to the increasing injury of her leg.

She tried to fight free, but a second chain began to wrap around her neck in similar fashion. As she continued to struggle, the chains' grip continued to increase, until two random kunai stabbed through the chains, setting her free and allowing her body to fall once again.

Right before her body met with the ground she was caught by two familiar arms as she glanced up to their owner.

"Aoi-san!" she cheered.

"Yo!" Aoi nodded with a smile on her face. She glanced up to see Ryuu was the one to cut her free. He landed beside them with a very serious expression on his face.

"That damn gaki is really starting to piss me off." He growled as he pulled out two of his _special_ kunai and glared up at Umihime who stared down at them with the same emotionless mask as before.

"No! Don't agitate her anymore. This is not her fault, those weird weapons are controlling her." Suzuka protested as she tried to stand up but her left foot had yet to recover from the amount of damage it had received.

"Then why in hell does she have them?!" Ryuu shouted as he continued to glower.

"I don't know. They just showed up when she ran into the lake."

"That artifact is too strong for her to handle." The eerie female voice from earlier said as the three turned around at the same time to see whom it was.

The woman was clad in a dark red velvet cloak that covered her shoulders and back. She was wearing standard black shinobi soldier pants that sported several pouches on each thigh and a black vest. Her fiery red hair was tied back in a tight bun as her seductive scarlet eyes stared at the genin.

"Who are you?" Aoi asked as she tensed up.

"They call me Shinku, but that will be the only thing you'll be allowed to know, since the rest will be pointless."

"And why is that?!" Ryuu demanded as he turned all his attention, and kunai, toward her.

"Now, that's a stupid question with a simple answer."

"She plans to kill us." Aoi stated as she scowled at the woman.

"Bingo, along with the mizu princess up there too." she pointed up in the tree toward Umihime.

"Why are you after her too?" Suzuka asked.

"I already told you that everything else is pointless for you to know since you'll be dead anyway. Kids these days, they are just too slow for their own good."

"I think you might be right about that but wrong about something else." Another voice spoke as a rain of kunai forced Shinku to leap backwards to dodge the attack. She glanced up to see Yugito land right in front of her as Naruto appeared behind Umihime, grabbing her and pulling the artifacts from her hands. In return she fainted into his arms.

"Humph… I guess I got so caught up in watching your daughter fight that genin over there that I forgot all about finishing my job before you two showed up. I guess I will just have to take care of all of you and triple the amount I was originally offered." She spoke nonchalantly.

"I guess your _employer_ didn't tell you how dangerous we were?" Yugito questioned.

"Oh, he _did_, but people tend to over exaggerate at times when they are forced to deal with things that is uncommon to them."

That statement seemed to piss off Yugito more than the fact that she was hired to kill her daughter. She was always the temperamental one of the couple. Even Naruto at times had to tip-toe around her when she was in one of her _moods_.

Naruto, being her husband and the closest person to her, knew exactly what button the mercenary had just pushed.

"I think you should run now." Naruto said as he glared down at her from the top of the tree with his daughter in his arms bridal style.

"And why is that?" Shinku asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Now _that_, is a _stupid _question with a _simple_ answer." Yugito spoke with a sinister smirk on her face as her facial traits began to morph back to her feral neko-like ones. Naruto noticed this change and cursed under his breath, as he knew that she was going to be a headache for him to deal with after the fight if the Nibi _and _her weren't satisfied after this.

Without any warning, Yugito was in Shinku's face unloading several heavy blows to it and her stomach before finishing off the combo with a roundhouse kick to her chin, sending her flying into the air. With movements quicker than the time it took for a second to pass, Yugito was already in the air as she landed an axe kick to the merc's head, sending her crashing head-first into the ground.

Shinku spat out a large blob of blood as she quickly retreated backwards, trying to gain a needed break from the fight but Yugito was already back in her space; as soon as she reached, her limbs started another barrage of punches and kicks to her battered body.

All three of the genin's eyes were almost peeled past their limits, as they couldn't believe just how fast this kunoichi was. Naruto only sighed as he watched the onslaught. Yugito always surpassed him in taijutsu and fell behind him in chakra output and ninjutsu. Like he said before, she was not a person he really wanted to fight in a serious match since her speed would make it troublesome for him to get off his jutsu in time. But because of their many spars over the years, he learned how to fire off his jutsu in such alarming speeds that at times he didn't even need the use of hand seals to control the amount of chakra needed to perform some of his jutsu.

Shinku couldn't believe just how fast and strong this woman was. Every fiber in her body ached down to its core as each blow shattered several bones until the final attack was a heavy knee to her already shattered chin, sending her back into the air. This time she was not going to allow herself to fall victim to the same attack as before as she shot an invisible string into the tree from her wrist. She quickly pulled her way out of the demoness's path of destruction.

Now safely in one of the many tall trees in this forest, she sat her plans in motion for a counter attack. Even though she knew it would be wiser for her to escape while she could since she had greatly underestimated the duo, the stubborn part of her refused to allow this to be the end of the fight – at least that was what she considered it even though she didn't even get a kick in.

She quickly shot several threads of invisible wire throughout the trees that surrounded Yugito as the woman searched for her prey, literally licking her chops. When she noticed the wire, it was already too late. The next thing everybody knew, the entire area was set ablaze just like before, but this time the flames were much more violent and fearsome.

Everything in the area was scorched in the searing flames, as the heat began to make it nearly impossible to breathe, thanks to the immense amount of smoke that was clogging up the area. Everyone but Naruto was worried about the safety of the blond kunoichi, who was standing right in the middle of the explosion when the flames went crazy.

A loud cackle was heard over the thunderous crashes from the trees that fell victim to the terrible flames.

"Serves that bitch right! Now it's time for the rest of you to feel the same agony that she feels!"

"I really hope you don't think this is over already." Naruto spoke out loud as he shrugged off the woman's laughter. He knew better than anyone else just how strong Yugito was and fire also just happened to be one of the kunoichi's elemental affinities.

As if it was planned, the flames in the middle swirled up in a tornado-like fashion, as the blonde kunoichi leap out of the inferno with a trail of fire following behind her. The look on Shinku's face was one of absolute shock. She couldn't believe that anyone could survive such an attack. She had literally pooled all of her chakra into that one attack and the entire section of the forest that they were in showed the proof of this. Why was this woman still alive? Just who was she and how could she be this strong? She stole a quick glance at the blonde's husband and noticed that he had this all-knowing look on his face as if he had already expected this. The fleeting thoughts crossed her mind that even if she had succeeded in defeating this woman here, she still would have to deal with her spouse, who was equally, if not the stronger of the couple. She began to curse her obsession with dangerous jobs since this one proved to be the most dangerous one of all. And here she thought that this was going to be a piece of cake, despite what the man who hired her stated. He was very specific about finishing the mission before the parents showed up or she would be forced to retreat or die. She thought it was all just overblown by weak politicians who were used to using their money to win people and not their fist, but boy, was she ever wrong.

"Maybe next time you will take your employer's advice, eh?" Yugito stated, unharmed by the ocean of flames that had just engulfed her. Hell, it looked like it had actually made her even stronger than before, judging by the way she was standing on the limb right in front of Shinku.

"_Maybe _you're right." Shinku said as she smirked. Despite the intense pain she was undergoing, she still felt a sense of pride to see a kunoichi this strong and not a slave to her male counterpart. But now wasn't the time to admire her opponent's state, she had to escape or things would end up with her death – a fate that she was definitely not ready for just yet. She still had things to settle. "How bout we call it your victory and I go about my merry way, kay?" she said in a sarcastic but pleading tone.

"Are you telling me that the person who was hired to kill my only precious daughter _and _accepted the job, not to mention look down on me _and _my husband is asking for her life to be spared?" Yugito spat out as her eyes narrowed at the woman. Shinku only smiled.

"Yup."

Yugito made a very unladylike grunt as she disappeared in a bust of flames, just to appear behind the mercenary landing a bone shatter knee to the dead center of her back causing her to plummet to the ground. Yugito leaped down after her, ready to land the finishing blow to the woman's back when she felt someone's hand grab her arm and instantly realized that only one person would be brave enough to do such a thing during this time.

"Why are you stopping me?!" She yelled as she pushed Naruto off of her in mid-air, causing the two to land several yards apart from each other.

"Is this you or is this the Nibi screaming for blood?" He questioned. During her last attack, he had quickly handed Umihime to Aoi and moved in to stop Yugito.

"Was it you who shattered that man's skull when he mentioned Umihime's death or the _Kyuubi_?" She spat back in a frustrated tone as she glared up at him.

The words _Nibi_ and _Kyuubi _were somewhat foreign to the genin but hearing that Naruto had literally shattered a man's skull sent chills up and down their spins as they gawked at the shinobi in question.

Naruto just sighed as he shook his head. He knew this was going to be a headache for him. He was hoping that she wouldn't act this way but he also knew that this was pointless to hope for when it came to her.

"Look…"

"Are you telling me to let her live after she threatened our child's life?"

"No." He tried to push out but Yugito pushed on.

"Then what the hell are you stopping me for? If she had been the one to attack us earlier, you would've killed her yourself. So what's the problem now?!"

"There was one major difference between then and now." Naruto stated as he closed his eyes trying to conceal his annoyance.

"_And _that is?"

"I had already got all of the information I could out of him. I would like to question her about Yamainu before we decide what exactly we should do with her."

"_Who_?" Shinku asked as she tried to pick herself off of the ground.

"What do you mean who? He was the one who hired you." Yugito stated as she stalked up to the woman and stomped her left hand.

"Ouch! Bitch, chill with that, ok?! And an old bastard name Iunok was the one who hired me! I don't know who the hell is this Yamainu bastard you're talking about!" She shouted as she gripped her broken hand with the other. Yugito stomped down on her left foot and snared at her.

"Is that true?"

"You didn't have to stomp my foot to ask that! And yes, it is!" Shinku yelled back as the pain was beginning to get the better of her.

"Where was it that you met this _Iunok_?" Naruto asked as he placed his hand on Yugito's shoulder. At this point, he could tell that the bijuu was beginning to take control over her as its violent methods were beginning to show. She never normally acted this way no matter how angry she was. She was always the calmer one of the two, but the situation seemed to swap their positions.

She glared up at him before allowing herself to retreat for the moment, realizing that he was right about the Nibi, since she could hear his voice in the back of her conscious, screaming for her to take this woman's head.

"Along the border of Tsuchi no Kuni." She easily complied hoping that the calmer of the couple would be her savior here.

"I see… and what exactly were your orders?"

"To kill Uzumaki Umihime while she was separated from her parents in Konoha and quickly escape back to the village of Ushiwaku, five miles past the country's borders. He said not to show up if I failed and that he would know if I did or not and warned me to stay away from you _two_."

"So this leaves us practically nowhere." Naruto sighed.

"If that is all, then how in hell do you know about the artifacts?" Yugito demanded as she glared at the woman. Naruto's eyes widened as that fact had escape his mind and now he too was interested in her answer to this one.

"Don't tell me you guys think you're the only ones who know about the artifacts? It just so happens that I have been taking random missions like these in order to find my old sensei that abandoned me, all thanks to these damn _artifacts_. I thought that if I could take that artifact from the gir—I mean your daughter, and that it would lead me one step closer to his whereabouts."

"What was your sensei's name?" Naruto asked.

"Uh… Ikazuchi, but why is that important? Don't tell me you know where he is?" She speculated as her face lit up despite the pain she was going through.

"No… I thought that maybe I'd had run into him but I don't recognize that name at all." Naruto stated as Shinku's facial expression fell into a semi depressing state as the glimmer of hope she had to finally find her sensei disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.

"Ok, now that you're done questioning her, what now?" Yugito demanded.

"She did attack shinobi from Konohagakure..." He said as he glanced over at the three genin that were staring at them in silence. "It would be best to leave her up to them."

Shinku released a huge sigh of relief as she finally relaxed. Even though she did attack Konoha shinobi on their own territory, she had a better chance of surviving with them than if he had let his wife have another go at her.

Several chakra sources were felt in the distance that caused Naruto's headache to increase tenfold. But he too was relieved that it was only Sakura, Konohamaru, and a couple of ANBU.

"What's going on here? Where's Umihime?" Sakura asked, as panic was clearly evident on her face. Naruto merely nodded over to the right where Aoi was as she carried his daughter on her back, piggyback style.

"She felt that Yugito-san was in trouble and tried to rescue her." Suzuka finally spoke up, causing everyone to give her their attention. "Then she found these strange weapons that seemed to possess her and this woman showed up and attacked us, but Naruto-san and his wife showed up and saved us."

Sakura glanced over at her former teammate and saw him nod, letting her know that this all was true. She finally released the breathe that she was probably holding back for who knows how long.

"I'm glad that she's ok…" Konohamaru said, as he too was happy that things didn't turn out to be worse – for different reasons from Sakura of course.

Sakura ordered the ANBU to take Umihime and Shinku to the hospital but Yugito refused to allow them to touch her daughter, as she in return order her to _show_ her the way to the hospital. She wasn't ready just yet to trust her daughter to someone else and her nerves were still on edge thanks to the bijuu's restlessness.

The team of genin were also forced to follow, since the injuries Suzuka had received were too much for her continue on with the exams since it was a requirement that all three succeeded to the next stage.

Sakura chose to stay behind and try to catch up with her former teammate, since things had finally calmed down to a point where she could properly relax again.

"So that weapon your _daughter _found-" It still was a strange thing to her, she never would have never foresaw Naruto to be a father at this age, and a mature one that. "-was the artifact that you two were looking for?"

"Yeah, unfortunately so." Naruto stated with a frustrated look on his face that did not go unnoticed by his pink haired friend.

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't plan for her to get involve in this hunt, not to mention that the artifact that has attached itself to her seemed to be too much for her to control."

"Can't Yugito or you just use it yourself?"

"According to what we have learned so far, the weapons only work for the ones that _they _choose, but before this, we also thought that they only reacted to the chakra of the bijuu. This just further proves how much we do _not _know about these weapons."

"Then why are you after them so much?"

"Because the man that is also searching for these weapons is someone who will place everyone in danger if he was ever allowed to harness their power." Naruto stated in a serious tone that Sakura was definitely not used to see. She was still used to the younger, loudmouth, dimwitted, but loveable Naruto she grew up with.

"I see. So, what is your plan now that you have what you were looking for in Konoha?"

"I don't know. Both Yugito and me feel that we do need to find a place to settle down until Umihime is of proper age. The line of work we do is not a safe and healthy environment for her to grow up in."

"I agree… no offense."

"None taken." He chuckled.

Suddenly the air around them grew thick as they could feel the murderous intent of someone watching them from the distance. Naruto allowed his chakra to flare up as he quickly began to scan the area as Sakura began to slip on her battle gloves.

A dark figure flashed right in front of them, causing both to tense up until they realize who it was. Sakura eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as Naruto's expression shifted to a deep scowl.

"Sasuke." Naruto said in an emotionless tone.

"Naruto." Sasuke stated matching his former teammate's tone.

----  
**Translations:  
**_Ikinoo Gantai_: (Life Zone) the jutsu/kekkei genkai allows the user to feel the life force of every person or thing that is within a fifty-yard circumference. It also allows the user to read the attentions of other within that zone.  
_Ikinoo Gantai: Undouseigyo_: (Life Zone: Motion Control) the second stage of Ikinoo Gantai that allows the user to control the wills of the life forces within their zone. This jutsu is limited to capability of the user ability to keep up and control their opponent's movements.


	9. 9th Sight: Strongest Team in History

**Author's Note: Told ya I'd post this on Sunday! LOL anyway, thanks all for giving me a nice boost in reviews for the last chapter and I apologize for how short this chapter is. As usual, thanks for all the reviews and reading my story. Hope you enjoy this latest update.**

**Vanished Without a Trace**  
9th Sight: Strongest Team in History

Sakura's heartbeat had slowed down to a small crawl as she watched the two men who had been like brothers to her stare each other down. This was almost the scene she had dreamed of for many nights, minus the animosity of course. You couldn't describe how badly she had missed her two teammates and how badly she wished for both of them to be back on good terms. The revival of team seven would mark the happiest point in her life.

Even though she still had some fleeting feelings toward her childhood crush, she had long outgrown that childish fan girl side of her as her maturity began to kick in. She no longer knew why she was so interested in the Uchiha besides his looks.

Suddenly reality dawned on her as she realized how thick the atmosphere was between the three of them. It was obvious that their little reunion was treading on thin ice as the slightest move could set off either Naruto or Sasuke.

"Man, has Kakashi-sensei let this village go to hell. It seems any bastard can walk right in and out as he pleases now." Naruto stated, as he never took his eyes off his eternal rival. No pun intended.

"Hump… At least we agree on one thing, eh?" He retorted with his usual arrogant smirk on his face.

"So, what the hell are you doing back in the village then?"

"I would like to ask you the same thing, dobe."

"What? Are you trying to test my patience right now?"

"There is nothing to test when it comes to what is already known."

"Then say it again and we will see who is the dobe in this group." Naruto spat as his cerulean orbs flashed a scarlet red for a second.

"_Dobe_."

Within that second, two kunai were plunged in both shinobi as blood dripped from their chest in the heart area. They both had moved so fast that Sakura couldn't keep up.

"You actually tried to kill me." Sasuke said as he spat up blood.

Suddenly both shinobi disappeared in a dark cloud of smoke.

"You've gotten a _little_ better I see." Sasuke said as he reappeared on a limb of a tree about two yards away from where he originally was.

"I was holding back. My daughter could've kill you at _that _speed." Naruto spat as he too was standing in a tree several yards back. "But back to my question, why the hell are you here?"

"As if I would need to tell you anything."

"We can always do this hard way, you know. The only problem with that is the fact that you won't end up walking away from this village again, or walking at all for that matter."

"I see over the years your big mouth hasn't changed about you." Sasuke said in a stoic tone as he eyes shifted to their crimson Sharingan form. "But you won't even land a finger on me, _dobe_."

Naruto literally growled as the wind around them began to pick up. Within the time it took Sakura to blink, he was gone. Sasuke had just barely enough time to unsheathe his _Kusanagi_ as it collided with Naruto's _Kamikaze_. Sasuke was temporarily left stunned thanks to the fact that he had gravely underestimated the blond's speed. The moment he zoned out allowed Naruto to land a roundhouse kick to the right side of his face knocking him out of the tree.

"So much for not being able to touch you, huh?!"

Sasuke quickly caught his balance landing on both feet but was forced to evade as Naruto was already in his face, slashing his _Kamikaze_ in the direction of his neck. Sasuke tilted backwards, allowing the blade to swing pass him and, in the same motion, he lifted his right foot, connecting with the bottom of Naruto's chin and sending him floating in the air. Sasuke quickly carried on with the attack but was forced to back up as Naruto quickly recovered and turned his temporary moment of levitation into an axe kick.

Sasuke lifted his _Kusanagi_ using it as a shield to fend off Naruto's attack, grabbed his ankle and slung him hard toward the ground. Naruto twisted in mid-fall and used his momentum combined with Sasuke's strength to flip the Uchiha in the air and on to the ground. Sasuke quickly rebounded as he landed on his feet but noticed that the blond was gone. He glanced over at Sakura but was forced to duck as Naruto's blade slashed right over his head.

Sasuke took advantage of his position and performed a sweep kick, taking Naruto off his feet and swooped in to stab him in the chest. At the last second, Naruto reached up and grabbed the hilt of _Kusanagi_ and pushed it up, causing it to thrust into Sasuke's chest and pushing him backwards. Naruto then launched a bicycle kick against Sasuke's chest and somersaulted in the air, before taking another swipe at Sasuke's head.

Sasuke quickly countered with his blade, pushing Naruto back a little. The two paused for a second as they entered a fierce staring contest. Naruto slowly entered a kendo stance which Sasuke began to mimic. As if a referee yelled a silent go, the two were dashing toward each other in a blinding show of speed.

The two locked horns at the center as the sounds of a million _clinks_ and _clanks_ were heard, quickly followed by a display of firework-like sparks. Sasuke, all of a sudden, leaped backwards and slung a barrage of shurikens. Naruto placed both hands on his _Kamikaze _and swiped in their direction, creating a wave of wind that shot them back to their owner.

In the gap of time that Naruto had taken his eyes off Sasuke to push back the shurikens, Sasuke had managed to entered the blind side of him and was in mid swing when Naruto quickly unsheathed his _Kagokasai_ and deflected his attack from behind him. He quickly spun around and took a swipe at his feet, trying to limit his movement enough for him to finish this fight off.

Sasuke leaped over the first swipe from _Kagokasai_ but was just barely able to protect himself when Naruto continued to spin attacking a second time with _Kamikaze. _

"That is enough!" Sakura suddenly yelled as both glanced up to notice that she was in the air zooming toward them. The two quickly evaded as she came down slamming her fist into the ground so hard the earth began to shake like an earthquake.

Both nuke-nin watched in amazement as the ground caved in under her power, creating a crater about ten yards wide in her wake. At the bottom of this crater was a very pissed off pink hair kunoichi who was glaring at both of them.

They both had gravely underestimated her as well. Even though they were focusing on each other, their senses should have been high enough to pick up on any attack coming from outsiders but both of them failed to notice her until she yelled at them. If she hadn't done so then they both would have most likely been lying under her right now.

"I see Naruto isn't the only one who has improved over the years." Sasuke said in an annoyed tone.

"You two haven't seen each other in several years and the first thing you do is try to kill each other?!" she yelled.

Naruto pointed his _Kamikaze_ at her with a fierce glare on his face. "Don't interrupt us, Sakura-chan. Next time I don't know if I'll be able to hold myself back." He declared.

Sakura was a little bit taken aback by this statement but stood her ground. The last thing she wanted to do was fight the two of them when they actually got serious. She couldn't help but noticed that the two of them were fighting only using their kenjustu skills.

"Whatever then, I have already seen what I wanted to see anyway."

"And that is?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke glared over at Naruto. "You're not the only one looking for a cunning ookami."

"How did you…" Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, Sasuke was already gone. Naruto gripped the hilt of both of his blades as he growled again.

Sakura sighed out loud as she glanced up at the sky. Just when things were looking like she was going to finally be able to reunite team seven. Things go the complete opposite direction. She suddenly paused as she remembered something. She looked over at Naruto with a puzzled look on her face.

"So, what now?" she asked.

**II**

"SAY WHAT?!" Three genin yelled as they learned from their sensei that she was leaving them.

"Gomen, gomen, but I'm not the one to decide these things, you know?" Ino said as she tried to calm them down.

"What the hell do you mean you're not the one to decide things? I haven't heard of a team losing their jounin sensei unless that person died. So why are you leaving us?" Aoi demanded.

"Is it because we failed to make it past the second exam?" Suzuka asked.

"No… it has nothing to do with that."

"Bullshit! It wasn't our fault that we failed. It was those damn Uzumakis that got in our way. If you two didn't decide to play babysitters than at least one of us would be in the finals right about now."

"And it definitely wouldn't be a baka like you, Baka-Ryuu." Aoi snorted as she crossed her arms. Obviously frustrated with their current situation.

"Shut the hell up with this _Baka-Ryuu_ stuff!"

"But sensei… what are we going to do from now on then?" Suzuka asked deciding to ignore her two teammates usual banter.

"That has already been decided. You guys will have an even better jounin instructor to help you guys grow."

"But that is still not telling us why you are abandoning us." Suzuka pressed on. A tinge of regret flashed over Ino as her expression dropped for a second.

"Look Suzuka-chan… my father is retiring and they want me to take his place. After thinking long and hard about it I think it would be best for me to take this role. I know it may sound selfish but this is something I have to do for myself." The two paused for a moment until Ino decided to continue on. "Plus, I will still check up on you guys and I heard that your new sensei is really good."

"He better be fucking good!" Ryuu yelled.

Ino smiled at the boy's usual foul mouth mannerism and sighed before glancing up at the sky.

"Well it's time for me to get going. Sorry I can't stay with you until your new sensei gets here, but I have things to do. He should be arriving here pretty soon anyway."

With that said, she began to walk off, leaving team twenty to their own thoughts.

"So who do you guys think our new sensei will be?" Aoi asked.

"I don't care as long as they aren't weak and can actually teach us something. Ino-sensei sucked as a sensei."

"No, she didn't, if it wasn't for her then you wouldn't have those new _special_ jutsu that you like to brag about."

"Whatever…"

"You think it could be Inuzuka-san?" Suzuka asked.

"Nahh… I don't think he would be the type who wants to take in genin, especially genin who failed to pass the second exam. He was a part of the famous _rookie_ _nine_ who made it past the first two exams their very first time." Aoi stated.

"We'll find out very soon anyway." Ryuu said as he yawned.

At least that was what they thought. They quickly found themselves waiting alone on the training grounds for several hours. They first met up for their usual training at noon but now it was already five in the afternoon when Ryuu began to lose his cool.

"She fucking lied to us!" He yelled as he stomped the ground.

"Maybe something came up." Suzuka said trying to calm him down. "Right, Aoi?" She looked over at her and noticed that she was too on the edge of exploding.

"This is ridiculous! We're already the laughing stock of the rest of the genin and this is throwing salt in our wound."

"But… I'm sure that there is a reason for this."

"Yeah, reason being that we are deemed too weak to continue _playing _shinobi." Ryuu added as he stood up. "Fuck it, I'm leaving."

"Just wait a little longer, Ryuu." Suzuka pleaded.

"I'm leaving too." Aoi said.

Suddenly a burst of violent wind flashed over the training ground as all three of them began to stare off in the distance where the source of the wind was coming from.

"Yo!"

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Ryuu yelled as he pointed.

"Uzumaki-san?" Suzuka said with a puzzle expression on her face.

"Please call me Naruto and gomen for being late, I kind of got lost trying to discover my way in life." He said with a bright smile on his face.

'_Always wanted to do this at least once.' _He mentally said as he chuckled to himself.

"Don't tell me _you're _our new sensei?" Aoi asked.

"You got it!" He cheered.

"But-but-but you're not even a jounin, or even a Konoha shinobi!" Ryuu yelled.

"Look again." Naruto said.

Thanks to the fact that they were no longer under the shroud of the dark forest they could get a good look at his features.

His long spiky blond hair traveled down past his ears, barely touching his cheeks, which sported three whisker like marks on each of them. His new Konoha hiate-ate was being worn around his neck. He was wearing the standard jounin vest with black shinobi pants and standard black shinobi sandals. He was also wearing a long black overcoat that extended to his feet and had red flames dancing along the trims with the _Uzumaki_ swirl sported on the back. Both of his hands were wrapped in black bandages that traveled all the way up to the sleeves of his coat. There was a medallion hanging from his neck that matched the swirl that was on his back. Both of his katana were no longer hidden by his genjutsu as they both rested on each hip. The thing that caught them off guard the most, well at least Aoi, was how blue his eyes were.

"Perfect…" Ryuu said as he frowned.

"You don't like that I'm your new _boss_." Naruto said obviously taunting the genin.

"Hell no! Why in hell do I have to follow a dobe who abandoned the village once?!"

Naruto's expression shifted to a dark smirk as he walked up to the genin.

"So says the person who had trouble handling my _five _year old daughter…" That seemed to be a low blow as their expression dropped. "And who was that person to train her?"

"Y... you?" Suzuka asked.

"Correct… so just imagine how much you guys will improve under my tutelage." He said as he patted Ryuu shoulders and turned his back to them. "Plus, this is my _thanks_ for taking care of her while we were away."

"What do you mean?" Aoi asked.

"When I'm done with you guys, you will be the strongest team in Konoha's history!" He cheered causing all three of them to give him a blank stare.

"You do know this is the same village that gave birth to the legendary sanin, right?" Aoi asked.

"And one of those legendary sanin, the ero-sennin a.k.a. Jiraiya was my second sensei after Kakashi who is the current Hokage. I have fought with both of the other two and baa-chan considers me to be her own son. I am the one most destined to be the next Hokage." He stated with such radiance in his aura that they couldn't help but to look on almost awe-struck like. "Mark my words, you guys will be remembered in the history books. But for now, let's call it a day. You're going to need to get your rest for tomorrow. See you here at noon." He said with a large grin on his face as he disappeared in a large gust of wind.

"Well… he did create that monster of a daughter of his." Aoi said as she tried to hold back her excitement. When he first showed up saying he was their new sensei, she was skeptical about it; but after hearing his track record, not to mention how strong Umihime was, she couldn't help but to be excited.

"He better be right about that promise then because I'm going to hold him to it." Ryuu said as he began to walk off.

**III**

Kakashi was staring at the mountain of paperwork that was glaring up at him from his desk thanks to reinstating Naruto to the village and also promoting him to an elite jounin along with his wife who was about to take the exam to become one of their ANBU captains. He still had to decide what he was going to do about their daughter since he heard that she had handled herself against a few genin and a chuunin. He then glanced over at his favorite book series literally begging for him to read it.

But suddenly his door slung open with a very angry member of the council, followed by a stoic-looking Danzo hoping along on his cane.

"Was is the meaning of this Hokage-sama?!" He demanded.

"Meaning of what?" Kakashi asked in his usual bored tone even though he knew exactly what this was about.

"Why did you reinstate that demon Uzumaki without any word to the council first? He was classified as a nuke-nin and should be terminated on the spot, yet you allowed him to come back like he didn't do anything. Not to mention you appointed him as an _elite_ jounin and gave him power over a genin squad. And don't even get me started on the fact that his _wife_ is a nuke-nin from Kumo. If they catch wind that we allowed one of their rogues to join our ranks without turning them over to them, they could use that as an excuse for war."

"Because_ I_ felt it was the right thing to do." He added extra emphasize to 'I' as he glared up at him with his single eye. "Since I have full control over the protection of this village and someone of his statue, ability, and who has heavy ties with many of the high ranking members of the village including the Godaime is always a welcome addition."

"We should interrogate him to make sure he isn't a spy." Danzo suggested finally speaking up.

"Denied. I have already made my decision about this. Besides, I doubt that even I could bring him in for interrogation using force and you would lose countless men of your _Root _unit if his wife joined in.

The room grew tense for as Kakashi glared at them before smiling.

"Relax… I know for a fact that Naruto will not cause harm toward the village. You can hold me responsible for everything him _and_ his family do while they are staying here. Now this discussion is over, as you see I have a ton of paperwork to finish before I can call it a night."

"But…"

"Conversation over." Kakashi stated in a firm tone as he glared at the man.

"Ok, Hokage-sama."

As the two exited his office, Kakashi began to sigh as he grabbed one of his books and began to read.

"Looks like things will be interesting for now on thanks to your return, eh?"

----


	10. 10th Sight: Back into the Fiery Water

**Author's Note: I'm back!!!! Dodges several weapons from some very people.* I'm very sorry for taking so long to update. Been very busy or the past couple of months. But I do have good needs. I am officially ending my hiatus and returning to writing. So that also means that both Immanence and Eminence will be updated pretty shorty after this as well.**

**Also, I have started a project along with SoulCry, Juubi no Ryuu, & T.J. Wilcox called "Weavings", hit up my profile for the link. I wrote the 1st the chapter (not the prologue) and working on the 5th. SoulCry wrote the prologue and 4th with Juubi taking the 2nd and TJ taking the 3rd. The story is on a rotation between us. Our collective name is Conjucted Group of Naruto Authors, or otherwise known as CGNA**

**Also, forgive me for the chapter not being beta read first. I really wanted to post this as soon as I could.**

**Well as usual, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, and hope you guys review. Sorry for the long hiatus.**

**Vanished Without a Trace**   
10th Sight: Get Back into the Fiery Water

The sky was serene and blissful, not a dark cloud for miles. It was one of those types of days that you wanted to just enjoy for what it was and bask in the rays of the sun. But three genin had other things on their mind at that time. Today would mark the first day they would serve under their new sensei that had made a very bold promise to them. A promise that they wouldn't even dream of coming true if it wasn't for him.

Despite how much he was hiding it, Ryuu was probably the most excited about this change of events. He never really liked Ino as a sensei and thought she was too soft. After seeing Naruto in action first hand, he couldn't wait to see what crazy jutsu he was going to learn from him.

This time, unlike yesterday, Naruto was actually early. Beating squad twenty to the training field by a couple of minutes. He was wearing a bright smile on his face as they showed up.

"Wow, he actually showed up." Ryuu said in a bitter tone.

"Why would I miss my chance to annoy you as much as possible?" Naruto retorted back with a grin on his face. Ryuu only growled as a reply.

"So what are we doing first today sensei?" Suzuka asked, catching Naruto off guard. Clearly he wasn't prepared for that just yet.

"Well... since I barely know you guys, how bout we start off with a brief introduction? Say your names, likes, and goals. I'll start things off; the name's Uzumaki Naruto, I enjoy eating ramen and playing with my daughter."

"What are your goals?" Aoi asked?

"Classified information. How bout you go next since you're so curious about me?" Naruto replied with a smirk on his face. Aoi sighed and nodded her hear.

"Hazumi Aoi, I like the color blue, and no it doesn't have anything to do with my name, my best friend Suzuka, and getting stronger. My goal is to become a strong kunoichi, preferably the strongest." Naruto nods over to Suzuka.

"Uh... Sakurai Suzuka. I like my friend Aoi... reading... and spring weather. My goal is to become stronger."

"Ok, what about you, crazy?" Naruto said as he nodded at Ryuu, causing said person to frown and Aoi to laugh.

"Anyway, I am the great Aki Ryuu. I like to fight and create new explosive jutsu. My goal is to become one of the strongest shinobi in history. Even stronger than _you_." He glared at his sensei causing said person to laugh.

"Well, it seems like I'm going to have fun with you guys! With that out of the way, let's get things started!" He glanced over at the pond that was in the middle of the training field. Aoi was the first to follow his line and sight and realize what he was thinking.

"We already went through the walking on water training." she said.

"I know, Ino has already updated me on everything you guys have already gone through. But it also seems you guys still are not as good as you're supposed to be at it."

"What's the point of going through a training that we have already mastered?" Ryuu argued. Naruto only chuckled.

"Who said you guys were even close to mastering that yet? Especially since you guys haven't been through my version of the training."

"Say what?" Aoi asked, a bit confused. Naruto only sighed as he unsheathed his _Kagokasai_ and created a Kage bushin that began to walk on the surface of the pond.

"Follow my clone."

"What's the point?" Ryuu demanded.

"You're going to fight him."

"NANI?!" They all yelled causing Naruto to laugh again.

"You guys are seriously too much. Don't worry, he's going hold back. Ain't that right?" Naruto asked his clone.

"Maybe..." The clone replied causing the three genin faces to grow pale.

Naruto chuckled again as he walked over to the edge of the pond and stabbed his _Kagokasai_ into the bank. The blade began pulsate chakra as steam started to rise from the pond.

"Why are you doing that?" Aoi asked.

"This will help keep you motivated to stay above the water." The genin faces grew even paler. "Oh, come on, it's not that hard."

"Screw it. This is my chance to pay you back for all the trouble you've caused me!" Ryuu yelled while charging toward the clone, only to be sent flying from a large foot to the chest causing him to sink into the water.

"Baka-Ryuu." Aoi groaned as she deadpanned.

"HOT!!!!" Ryuu yelled as he quickly shot back up and dashed toward the bank but the real Naruto stopped him.

"I didn't say the training was over now did I?"

"But..." Before he could finish, Naruto kicked him back into the pond.

"Back into the fiery water! You're only making this harder on yourself, you know?" The clone only laughed as he watched Ryuu struggle to get back to the surface. The real Naruto glanced over at the other two. "What are you two waiting for?" He asked with sinister grin on his face causing both of them to become incredibly terrified of their new sensei.

**II**

Locked away in one of the desolate prison cells of the ANBU prison camp was one very irritated and battered Shinku. She didn't quite understand why she was still alive, but she also wasn't about to question this either. After the beaten she took from that insane kunoichi, she almost considered this to be better.

Suddenly, there were several sets of footsteps growing closer to her. Was it finally her time to die, had she relaxed too soon? The footsteps stopped right in front of her cell. She slowly glanced up to see the one person she didn't want to see surrounded by two ANBU guards.

"Come to finish me off?" She spat. Yugito's eyes only narrowed as she glared down at the battered woman.

"No, but if that is your wish, I will be more than willing to fulfill it."

"Then why are you here disturbing my peace?"

"I need answers."

"Is that why I'm still alive?"

"You're alive for reasons that are beyond my control. Just be happy that I haven't decided to go against their wishes."

"Fine, ask away since it's pretty obvious that I won't have anything better to do for awhile. I mean if you guys decide to keep me alive that is." Yugito only frowned as she continued to glare down at her.

"Tell me more about your sensei."

"Why do you need to know about him?"

"I'm the one asking questions here." Yugito spoke in a stern tone as her chakra began to flare up.

"Fine, just settle down a bit first ok?" Yugito continued to emit a murderous intent causing Shinku to sigh out loud. "I don't see how the other blond can even put up with you."

"You are beginning to try my patience."

"I'm getting to it, ok? Just relax and take a breather."

"Answers..." Shinku could feel the cell heat up, which was causing her to sweat a little. She sighed again, knowing that she was going to end up getting herself killed if she kept this up.

"Ok, what more do you want to know?"

"What village is he from, likewise you?"

"I thought we were only talking about him?" The chakra around Yugito became visible as flames began to dance around her body causing the two ANBU guards to take a step back. Shinku decided that was the sign that she should start cooperating with her. "We didn't have a village... I was an orphan for as long as I could remember. He found me when I was about four or five and took me in as his own daughter. We never really venture into any of the shinobi villages, of course back then I had no clue they existed so I never asked him why we were avoiding them."

"When was the first time he mentioned something about the artifacts?"

"I don't quite remember, I think I was around ten at the time. He pulled out some kind of crazy looking dagger and said these things would lead to the fall of the world."

"What did he mean by that?"

"I don't know. I was kid back then, ok? Not like I was going to instantly figure out what he was going on about. I just thought it was some random half-assed speech to help pass the time when we were bored."

"If you didn't believe him back then, why are you searching for them in order to find him?"

"It's not that I didn't believe that the artifacts were really special. I saw him use it a lot of the time. Especially when we were being chased."

"Wait... he used it?" The immense murderous intent Yugito had been emitting instantly dropped when she heard this.

"Yeah... Is that a problem?"

"Was he a jinchuuriki?"

"Uh... not that I know of. Why does that have anything to do with the artifacts?"

"Don't worry about it." Yugito said as she began to mule over the recent news. "When was the last time you saw him?"

"Ugh... about three years ago. We were being chased by a couple of guys and we split up with the plan to meet up at a near by town that bordered Tsuchi no Kuni."

"How do you know he's not dead?"

"After a day, I searched for him and found the dead bodies of the guys that were chasing us but no sign of him whatsoever. So I decided to stay in that town hoping that he would come back to get me but he never showed."

"So you figured that if you started to search for the artifacts, you would eventually run into him again."

"Bingo!" Yugito sighed as she closed her eyes and began to walk off. "What? No thanks for taking my very important time?!"

"Arigatou!" Yugito yelled from down the hall.

"Bitch..." Shinku muttered.

"I heard that!" Yugito yelled.

**III**

Meanwhile, team twenty was having the worst time of their lives with this training that their new sensei deemed so simple that a five-year-old could do it. It was safe to say that if they had a choice to go back to the Forest of Death and relive the experience they had there versus this, they would take that opportunity every time.

"You guys having fun yet?" Naruto sarcastically asked as Ryuu fell into the water for the umpteenth time. Both Aoi and Suzuka weren't fairing any better though.

Aoi had managed to focus enough to emit ice around her body so when she fell in, it wouldn't burn as much, but she was exhausted because of it, and Naruto wasn't about to get out any hints in this training. Well… it was more like torture to them. Whenever one would fall in, Naruto would increase the temperature tenfold, forcing them back up, not allowing them to get use to the heat of the water.

"Don't you think this is a little to extreme Naruto?" Naruto turned around to see team twenty's former sensei shake her head. Behind her were Sakura and Umihime.

"Umihime liked to play this game!" Umihime cheered as she dashed over to the water. The other two kunoichi deadpanned right before glaring over at Naruto.

"What?" He asked, unaware of the reason why he was garnering their angry glares.

Umihime dashes past Aoi, causing her to almost fall in again and leaped up on the clone's shoulders.

"Umihime wants to play too papa."

"Not now, Umihime. This is for them to get better."

"Aww.... But..." She whined.

"Papa will play with you later, ok?"

"Really, promise?"

"I promise." Naruto said as he gave her his "nice guy" pose causing the two behind him to sweat drop.

"The more things change..." Sakura started.

"-the more things stay the same." Ino finished.

"INO-SENSEI!!" All three genin yelled as they finally noticed that she was there.

"I thought I told you guys already, I'm no longer your sensei, Naruto is."

"But he is going to kill us!" Aoi pleaded.

"Seriously... It's really not that hard to get used to. You guys are making this out to be harder than what it really is." Naruto stated.

"It would be easier if your damn clone would stop knocking us back in the hot water!!!" Ryuu shouted.

"If you can't handle this, then how in hell are you going to fight an enemy on top of water, or any other surface that isn't ground? Not to mention this training teaches a lot more than just walking on water."

"Yeah, this is taking it too far Naruto." Sakura agreed. Naruto sighed as he glanced over at his daughter who was still riding on his clone, somehow magically holding on as he dashed around the pond in blinding speeds.

"Umihime, you can play with us a little bit, ok?"

"Really?!!! Yay!!" Umihime shouted as she leaped down and landed on the water as if it was surface.

"You three, pay attention to her. If she can do it, I don't see any reason why you guys can't."

"Can Umihime start now?"

"Yup." Naruto said with a toothy grin.

As if a gong was sounded, Umihime shot toward the clone like a bullet and tried to drop-kick him. The clone dodged to the right and barely landed a soft hit to her back causing her to land on the water. Everyone gasped for a second until they notice that she didn't fall in. Her body was laying perfectly on the surface; hell... her clothes weren't even wet. She began to giggle as she leaped up.

"What the hell is she?" Aoi asked.

"A monster...." Ryuu answered.

"Not quite." Naruto said. "She just knows how to properly manage her chakra, she has a smaller amount of chakra supply than you guys but her control over it is what takes her a step ahead. If you can properly fight on water, then your efficiency when it comes to chakra control will be twice as great. The shinobi you are now wouldn't be able to touch the ones you'd become just from mastering this training alone."

"Nonsense!" Ryuu shouted.

"No, he is speaking the truth." Ino said causing all the genin to perk up.

"Ok, I get that much. Why heat the water? What point is it in doing that?"

"To add an extra element to think about, making it harder to concentrate on your chakra. In battle, there is no telling how many factors will weigh on the outcome of your fight, not to mention your body and mind's current condition. This is the best way to simulate a real world experience without actually putting you in danger." Team twenty was stunned by this news. Could this really improve them that much? "Besides, you guys won't be doing anything else until you've mastered this training."

"EH?!!!" Naruto laughed.

"Just another factor to add to the simulation." He joked.

"Can you at least give us a hint on how to get better?" Suzuka asked. Naruto sighed as he looked over at his daughter who was already ready to go another round.

"Umihime, come over here."

"Umihime wants to play more."

"I know but we will play as much as you want later, ok?"

"Hai!!" She easily agreed as she dashed over to him. He lifted her up in his arm and gave her a soft kiss to the forehead, causing her to giggle again.

"Ok... Ryuu, calm down, you are using way too much energy just trying to prove that you're stronger than the rest. Which unfortunately leads to you making an ass of yourself in the process. Being shinobi isn't all about who is stronger or who has the better jutsu, it is about who can remain calm regardless of the situation. Even an ant can beat an elephant when the elephant is an idiot." Ryuu took some slight offense to this but understood what he meant. "Aoi, I understand why you used your ice to help deal with the heat but it is only exhausting your chakra supply faster. You may be acting tough, but I can easily see how exhausted you are and so can your enemy. Focus more on actually staying afloat and not the pain. Ryuu is actually ahead of you here. And I know you don't want that." Aoi glared over at him and then at Ryuu, who was enjoying the small bit of praise that he'd just received. "And Suzuka..."

"Hai?"

"Stop holding back... I understand your reason for doing so but this training should be pretty easy to you. You are the only one acting like you're having trouble with it." Suzuka's eyes widen in both shock and fear as the other two stared over at her. "I may not look like it, but I can notice a lot of things other people don't." Both Sakura and Ino nearly fell over from this comment.

"But... I..."

"Like I said, I understand your reasons, but this is only holding you and your teammates back. And I'm sure you don't want to that right?"

"Hai..." Suzuka replied in a very reluctant tone.

"Umihime's hungry papa."

"Me too, want to stop by my favorite ramen place?"

"Hai!!!!" she cheered as she lifted her arms in the air.

"Well... with that said, lets take a break for now so you guys can think over what you learn. We'll meet back here in an hour." Naruto and Umihime suddenly disappeared in a large gust of wind leaving the three genin to contemplate things.

"So does that mean Suzuka was the strongest all along?" Ryuu asked.

"Shut up, Baka-Ryuu." Aoi spat.

"Hey, no reason to jump on me just because you're not the strongest."

"...." Aoi started to say something but decided to leave it be. She had always had her suspicions but to hear them thrown in her face, it was like someone had just punched her in the stomach.

"Gomen..." Suzuka said.

"What for? You didn't do anything wrong at all." Aoi replied, hiding her true feelings. She was trying, but it was obvious to everyone what she really felt.

"You think Naruto did the right thing by bringing that out in the open?" Ino asked Sakura. She had known since the beginning that Suzuka was the strongest but never said anything for fear of ruining their teamwork.

"Yeah... I'm pretty sure that baka has some sort of plan. Maybe this will actually be better for them in the long run." Sakura replied.

"I hope so, I don't want to regret my decision in allowing him to replace me."

"Trust me... you won't."

----


End file.
